05 Mar 2010 at 23:43
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With all due respect to the downtrodden people of North Korea, your dictator president, Kim Jong-Il is undeniably crazy. Mad as a hatter, if you will. Unfortunately, he’s not the kind of crazy person that sits on a bench in the part nattering to himself about pigeons and how he dislikes western potato dishes. Nope, he’s the kind of crazy person that kills people. He has managed to run a lovely country into the ground while simultaneously convincing himself that everything is tip-top.
As I already said, Kim Jong-Il and the Stalinist government of N. Korea are not harmless nuts. Kim Jong-Il may not live long enough to surpass Hitler’s record (which itself pales in comparison to the deathtoles amassed by Marxist heavyweights, Stalin and Zedong), but one has to give him props for trying! Seven hundred thousand (conservative estimates) and counting! Ten dollars, or 3% of the nation’s GDP, says that he doesn’t even lose sleep over it! Then again, neither are we.
For a taste of North Korean propaganda, check out their official homepage. I’ve included the text from the “Reunification” portion of their site after the break. Continue reading →
04 Mar 2010 at 18:51
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Have you ever laid awake at night wondering which mobile browser people across the world use? Neither have I. Honest!
However, it’s interesting to learn that the vast majority of hipster Canucks are using Mobile Safari whereas their compatriots Nigeria apparently haven’t even heard of it. One particular stat that jumped out at me was the 3% of mobile browsers in Canada use the Sony PSP browser. PSP? Really?
Oh, and Australians apparently L-O-V-E their BlackBerrys! Poor sods!
04 Mar 2010 at 17:01
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I come from a family that subscribes – at least in part – to naturalistic medicine. My sister suffered from an undiagnosed issue for years. Her doctors and specialists eventually advised my parents to take her home to be “comfortable.” That’s doctor-ese for “go home and die.” Even if my attempt to read between the lines is wrong, those are not comforting words. It was an acknowledgement of the fact that they didn’t know what to do.
As a desperate last resort, my parents booked an appointment with a naturopath. After a few short weeks on a strict revised diet, my sister was recovering.
I’m still a cautious skeptic. I’m impressed with the testimony of my sister and many others like her but it seems that natural remedies have become dangerously chic and profitable. Moreover, there are too many unsupported health and healing claims. Granted, it’s tough to secure financing to prove that a backyard weed cures cancer. However, I figure that a company that is able to finance an aggressive marketing campaign should be able to fund some research.
Here’s an interesting infographic showing which “natural remedies” have clinical research backing their claims to fame.
01 Mar 2010 at 05:28
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Like so many Canadians today, I watched with great pride as Canada emphasized once again that hockey is our game. After a nail-biting 3rd period which saw Zach Parise of the United States tie the game with only seconds remaining, Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia’s Sidney Crosby sent all of Canada into hysteria with an overtime goal for the ages.
Prettier goals have been scored, but an overtime goal in a championship game is always a beautiful thing, unless you happen to be on the receiving end. This was an epic finish: with everything on the line in front of the home crowd, the superstar scored the goal he was supposed to. Go Canada, Go!
Having said all that, congratulations to the Americans who were worthy opponents and fierce competitors.
15 Feb 2010 at 23:48
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While working on a couple of my own sites this evening, I inadvertently deleted my entire WordPress installation. After an initial exclamation of frustration, I began to think that it might be a good thing. With enough effort, I could probably salvage enough information to stitch together something that loosely resembled my previous site, but I’m not sure it’s worth the time. It’s not that many people are going to be missing the content that existed on my site before.
Here’s to fresh starts and new beginnings! Hopefully this provides me the inspiration to start writing and sharing again. Soon!
With all due respect to the downtrodden people of North Korea, your dictator president, Kim Jong-Il is undeniably crazy. Mad as a hatter, if you will. Unfortunately, he’s not the kind of crazy person that sits on a bench in the part nattering to himself about pigeons and how he dislikes western potato dishes. Nope, he’s the kind of crazy person that kills people. He has managed to run a lovely country into the ground while simultaneously convincing himself that everything is tip-top.
Avatar: A Movie About Blue People
06 Mar 2010 at 16:32
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Interesting Factoid: Movie theatres make a bigger cut as time passes. Depending on the movie, they may net nothing from the actual ticket sales during the first week (don’t worry, they’re still doing just fine with the 6000% markup on popcorn and sugar water). By the second or third week, the theatres get to keep about 50% of the ticket revenues (and snacks remain a king’s ransom). By the fourth week, that number jumps to 80% or so. At four weeks, most showings are sparsely attended. Eighty percent of 15 tickets is not a lot (hence the justification for concession robbery).
Where was I? Yes…my defence. The movie is still making stupid amounts of money. A coworker of mine announced with pride on Monday that he had finally taken the opportunity to see Avatar. Not only that, but the theatre was full. It was released on December 18 and two and a half months later, it’s still selling out theatres. Not bad. Therefore, my post here still seems somewhat relevant.
For the record, I enjoyed watching Avatar. It was certainly an experience. The 3D and CG graphics were stunning to say the least. However, a movie should ultimately come down to the story. That’s where it may have fallen off a bit. Enough of my opinion, though. Here’s a video review that I found really intriguing. The reviewer sounds a bit odd, but hear him out.
Video after the break.
Continue reading →