Once upon a time....
There was a bright young aspiring girl, fresh 18 years old. She was only a couple of weeks away from graduating high school, doing her walk across the stage to get her diploma, the whole nine. It was good decisions that got her there in the first place. In that few weeks before her big day at her grad, the girl ended up having unprotected sex with one of her class mates. Low and behold, right before she graduates she finds out she is pregnant. Several months later, she finds out that she isn't just having a baby boy, its baby boy twins, identical. Fast forward the clock a few more months, two new baby boys are brought into the world. At this time the girl is now 19 years old, working as a waitress, and barely able to make ends meet for herself alone. As for the dad of the kids, nowhere to be found. She is high and dry, on her own. Even though it kills her, her only option is to put her two boys up for adoption.
Fast forward 35 years; (------>) The girl from high school isn't much of a girl anymore. She is now 54 years old, has landed herself a successful job, is renting a decently sized house and is in a steady relationship. However there isn't a day that goes by that she can't not think of her two sons, and how guilty she feels for leaving them for adoption instead of being able to take care of them herself. She decides to go out and find both of them, and make peace with them both.
After doing some research, and making a few phone calls, she is able to track down one who moved into a bigger city, and is working as one of the top heart surgeons in the country. She decides to pay him a visit, so she flys to his city and finds the hospital where he works. When she tracks him down, she explains the situation to him and says "I can't beleive how successful you have turned out! I am so proud of you!" and He responds to her by saying "Well, after what happened and all these years, where did you expect I would be?" She asks him about her other son, and he tells her that he hasn't seen or spoken with him in near 15 years. She decides to embark out to find her other son, and make right by him as well.
On her walk back to her hotel room, the woman comes across a man sitting on a street corner begging for change. When she looks back into his sunken eyes and hollow cheeks, she recognizes his face from the hospital that she was just in, and immediately knows she has found her other son. She tells the man who she is, and how glad she is to have found him after so many years. The man scoffs at the whole idea, and looks disgusted with his mother. She says to him "Please come with me, I will get you food, and a shower, you can come and stay with me you shouldn't be here like this," and her son looks and reply's "Well after what happened and all these years, where did you expect I would be?"
I have to re-write my Carpentry final practical in a couple of weeks, and while the point of this story is drive for me, let it be drive for everyone else. I once heard, good enough, isn't. I've been knocked down before, time to get the fuck up.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
50 Gallon Drum (filler)
I started a blog post.. but I am not quite sure how to end it yet. I might end up scrapping the whole thing and re posting tomorrow so bare with me. In the meantime, many of you may have heard this song, but if you haven't you should listen to it, or at least read the lyrics. Quality.
My idea of heaven, I enjoy the fixing of a flat tire
I like art made of garbage, a little pain is good for you
I don't want everything to be made easy for me
Fast ain't always better than slow you know
A home run every time would start to get boring after a while
I hope I never forget how to bleed
Static fuzz, hiss, it's just the thing sometimes
50 gallon drum, that's what I'm talking about
Give me a hundred bucks to work on your bike
And maybe I'll cut your hair for you while I'm at it
I wanna work, I'm ready, I wanna take my baby dancing
Scary movies on Monday morning, chopping some wood, wind in my tires
Chocolate chip cookies, rain in the window, it's the underneath of Paris
It's New York from the back, Mount Uniacke in the fall
In a moment between heartbeats I'll set fire to the sky
Or cut the devil's throat
I'm three for four with a double and two stolen bases
Having my picture taken with the Amazing Creskin
It's a shiny day and the dogshit smells like strawberries
I found a shoebox filled with viewmaster reels
I don't have to cut my hair or do math ever again if I don't want to
Tell the bounty collectors to kiss my ass
I'm a hunter gatherer surveying the junk yards
Warrior monk with a month long bus pass
Odd job casanova, I write nothing down and keep my clothes in a guitar case
I run with bulls and swim with the pool sharks
Perfection is a place where there are two for one milkshakes on Tuesdays
It's where you can pay for a room with your good looks
The ball parks are always busy and the umpires always make the right call
Everyday is halloween and people use plastic Christmas trees
They fight with their fists and go to drive-in movies
There's no such thing as luck or the dentist and shoes don't hurt your feet
I keep a lighter and dog treats
In my pockets at all times because you never know
I've got a Saint Francis of Assisi keychain
And a wallet made of Corinthian leather
Sometimes I drive all night and listen to talk radio
Sometimes I practice scratching for hours on end
Usually I sit in my window and listen to my tapes, I've got all kinds of tapes
Hugs and kisses, and treats in a bag
In paradise a buck will buy you a comic book, a soda and a candy bar
You can always find a place to park or to hide
The DJs only play originals and the theatres still have silver screens
And Buster Keaton matinees
I'm an outlaw faith healer, with sock monkeys for the kids
I'm the ringmaster-king of the convenience store parking lot
My show is an every man for himself freak fest
Pack a lunch and ask for Johnny Rockwell
Here your favorite pen works forever but memory parallax
It's 70's doing 20's, 50's doing 2000
Everyone's got their own arrow and there ain't no short handled shovels
It's under my pillow, it's tomorrow and the next day
-Buck 65
My idea of heaven, I enjoy the fixing of a flat tire
I like art made of garbage, a little pain is good for you
I don't want everything to be made easy for me
Fast ain't always better than slow you know
A home run every time would start to get boring after a while
I hope I never forget how to bleed
Static fuzz, hiss, it's just the thing sometimes
50 gallon drum, that's what I'm talking about
Give me a hundred bucks to work on your bike
And maybe I'll cut your hair for you while I'm at it
I wanna work, I'm ready, I wanna take my baby dancing
Scary movies on Monday morning, chopping some wood, wind in my tires
Chocolate chip cookies, rain in the window, it's the underneath of Paris
It's New York from the back, Mount Uniacke in the fall
In a moment between heartbeats I'll set fire to the sky
Or cut the devil's throat
I'm three for four with a double and two stolen bases
Having my picture taken with the Amazing Creskin
It's a shiny day and the dogshit smells like strawberries
I found a shoebox filled with viewmaster reels
I don't have to cut my hair or do math ever again if I don't want to
Tell the bounty collectors to kiss my ass
I'm a hunter gatherer surveying the junk yards
Warrior monk with a month long bus pass
Odd job casanova, I write nothing down and keep my clothes in a guitar case
I run with bulls and swim with the pool sharks
Perfection is a place where there are two for one milkshakes on Tuesdays
It's where you can pay for a room with your good looks
The ball parks are always busy and the umpires always make the right call
Everyday is halloween and people use plastic Christmas trees
They fight with their fists and go to drive-in movies
There's no such thing as luck or the dentist and shoes don't hurt your feet
I keep a lighter and dog treats
In my pockets at all times because you never know
I've got a Saint Francis of Assisi keychain
And a wallet made of Corinthian leather
Sometimes I drive all night and listen to talk radio
Sometimes I practice scratching for hours on end
Usually I sit in my window and listen to my tapes, I've got all kinds of tapes
Hugs and kisses, and treats in a bag
In paradise a buck will buy you a comic book, a soda and a candy bar
You can always find a place to park or to hide
The DJs only play originals and the theatres still have silver screens
And Buster Keaton matinees
I'm an outlaw faith healer, with sock monkeys for the kids
I'm the ringmaster-king of the convenience store parking lot
My show is an every man for himself freak fest
Pack a lunch and ask for Johnny Rockwell
Here your favorite pen works forever but memory parallax
It's 70's doing 20's, 50's doing 2000
Everyone's got their own arrow and there ain't no short handled shovels
It's under my pillow, it's tomorrow and the next day
-Buck 65
Monday, May 2, 2011
Happy 2011
This is turning out to be more of a Monday session. I was watching baseball yesterday. So, Osama Bin Laden dead.. how bout that. Did anyone else happen to see the front page as well page one of the Calgary Sun this morning? It actually said "ROT IN HELL" front page news, and I quote from page one "THE BASTARD IS DEAD." Real appropriate. I think I could probably give a crayon to my seven year old niece and get her to write a more sophisticated headline, and she is just learning how to read and write. What a filthy joke, you should be incredibly ashamed of yourself The Calgary Sun at being such a fucking embarrassment in representing our populations general interest. All I can hope for now is that a horrifying war on Pakistan doesn't break out now, and that ignorant white North Americans don't lump them in with the fact that Bin Laden was housed in their country. But that's a story for another day.
Personal congratulations to Jack Layton and the NDP. I didn't vote, I cannot prove my address at the moment, and I probably would have if I had the means. Even though that the Conservatives won a majority, the NDP made history with their landslide of seats, and hopefully one day will win a minority over Stephen Harper and make him sweat. I was also very happy to see both the Liberals and Bloc parties absolutely decimated. If only riding's in Western Canada meant something to the election, rather than padding out the pockets of Conservative fat cats. Oh, and don't forget, for those of you whom voted DIRECTLY for Stephen Harper as he may have well been the leader for your riding depending on your geography, you not only voted in Conservative, but you also voted DIRECTLY for HIM, and HIS bullshit. But abortion sucks anyways right? Wooooo lower taxes!!!!! And more jobs!!!! Seeing is believing though.
May 2nd though, second day in a row its been nice and sunny, quite a tolerable temperature. As far as I'm concerned, this is my new year. 2011 hasn't really come up Craig so far. In fact, its been an awful start to a year. The winter was cold and miserable, and long. I was diagnosed diabetic, I hated working at SAIT. Pure Math sucks, I wasted $1000 bucks on school I will never use, and my 4th year didn't turn out in my favor. Yep.. so far its sucked, but as a result I am considering it to only be a 7 month year for me. My 2011 started at the turn of the month, so lets make the rest of it a good one. I realize the blog may be spread a bit thin and be a bit weak this week, but I'm Craig Swanberg, more stories AND ANDY ROONEY next week on 60 minutes.. I mean.. Sunday Session. VOTE SATAN!
-CS
PS. Suck My Caucus Stephen Harper.
Personal congratulations to Jack Layton and the NDP. I didn't vote, I cannot prove my address at the moment, and I probably would have if I had the means. Even though that the Conservatives won a majority, the NDP made history with their landslide of seats, and hopefully one day will win a minority over Stephen Harper and make him sweat. I was also very happy to see both the Liberals and Bloc parties absolutely decimated. If only riding's in Western Canada meant something to the election, rather than padding out the pockets of Conservative fat cats. Oh, and don't forget, for those of you whom voted DIRECTLY for Stephen Harper as he may have well been the leader for your riding depending on your geography, you not only voted in Conservative, but you also voted DIRECTLY for HIM, and HIS bullshit. But abortion sucks anyways right? Wooooo lower taxes!!!!! And more jobs!!!! Seeing is believing though.
May 2nd though, second day in a row its been nice and sunny, quite a tolerable temperature. As far as I'm concerned, this is my new year. 2011 hasn't really come up Craig so far. In fact, its been an awful start to a year. The winter was cold and miserable, and long. I was diagnosed diabetic, I hated working at SAIT. Pure Math sucks, I wasted $1000 bucks on school I will never use, and my 4th year didn't turn out in my favor. Yep.. so far its sucked, but as a result I am considering it to only be a 7 month year for me. My 2011 started at the turn of the month, so lets make the rest of it a good one. I realize the blog may be spread a bit thin and be a bit weak this week, but I'm Craig Swanberg, more stories AND ANDY ROONEY next week on 60 minutes.. I mean.. Sunday Session. VOTE SATAN!
-CS
PS. Suck My Caucus Stephen Harper.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Victory!!!
Here is a few thoughts to start;
- I was too busy to post yesterday on account of Easter, my apologies. As of last week, screw you.
- I think I have trench foot
- Any of you single awesome women want to go see Sweeny Todd? I want to see it, but have no one to go with.
-The JDRF emailed me back, expressing that they had concern for my issue, I had a brief response back and they still haven't got back to me. Dicks.
-Does anyone remember having to colour maps or title pages as ACTUAL homework? And it would take forever? And the lines always were in opposing directions because it was IMPOSSIBLE to make it perfect without colouring in a different direction at least once. Awful.
I am reeeaallly tired man. I worked for the first time today in 2 months. As many of you know I just finished school, so thats why I was freeloading it for a bit, and work kicked my ASS today. As a result, this is gonna be short(ish I hope) and awesome. I haven't really accomplished alot in my life, when you really look at the grand scheme of things. I don't mean that necessarily in a bad way either because not many people have by the age of 23, and if you try to compare yourself to the people who have, you're setting yourself up for failure. Sorry. But I mean really, I have traveled a handful of times and thats about it. I don't have a house, a wife, a girlfriend, or a kid. I never did write a book, and I am still only a mediocre xbox player. I am not a professional athlete, and I don't own my own business, (again not saying that ANY of these things really constitute being an able, capable human being cuz life is what you make of it to make you happy anyways right?) But, I have accomplished something.
I am finished school, and after working out a few kinks, I am going to be a Journeyman Carpenter. Like, FUCKING OFFICIALLY, ON PAPER, I DID IT, and WHAT a great feeling. It is the only thing I have accomplished in my short time on this Earth, that has meaning. Like, I DID it. Nobody nominated me, nobody handed it to me, nobody appointed me, or any of the rest, I attained it. And what a great feeling it really is to possess a skill that many people either can't do, or have no desire to do, but that in many circumstances is an incredibly important attribute. I can built stuff, and fix stuff. Its literally what I do. People like us (well the good ones anyways) build quality homes, offices, decks, fences, sheds, spice racks, you name it. Not just Carpenters either, there is many skilled trades that make the places that you enjoy, enjoyable. Don't ever forget that the next time you see some dirty sore old man, or young man working for what might eventually benefit you one day, like the road you drive on or "right there in that building behind you" (hah movie quotes).
Nobody else has to tell me, and if you do then thanks but congratulations to me. People complain about how working in construction is like living in the 70's because its so dated how we get treated, how we work in the mud, in the rain, in the snow, in the cold. I know I complain sometimes, but what I got to say? The Marines ain't the only strong, proud and few in this world.
Now if you will excuse me, I am exhausted from work.
- I was too busy to post yesterday on account of Easter, my apologies. As of last week, screw you.
- I think I have trench foot
- Any of you single awesome women want to go see Sweeny Todd? I want to see it, but have no one to go with.
-The JDRF emailed me back, expressing that they had concern for my issue, I had a brief response back and they still haven't got back to me. Dicks.
-Does anyone remember having to colour maps or title pages as ACTUAL homework? And it would take forever? And the lines always were in opposing directions because it was IMPOSSIBLE to make it perfect without colouring in a different direction at least once. Awful.
I am reeeaallly tired man. I worked for the first time today in 2 months. As many of you know I just finished school, so thats why I was freeloading it for a bit, and work kicked my ASS today. As a result, this is gonna be short(ish I hope) and awesome. I haven't really accomplished alot in my life, when you really look at the grand scheme of things. I don't mean that necessarily in a bad way either because not many people have by the age of 23, and if you try to compare yourself to the people who have, you're setting yourself up for failure. Sorry. But I mean really, I have traveled a handful of times and thats about it. I don't have a house, a wife, a girlfriend, or a kid. I never did write a book, and I am still only a mediocre xbox player. I am not a professional athlete, and I don't own my own business, (again not saying that ANY of these things really constitute being an able, capable human being cuz life is what you make of it to make you happy anyways right?) But, I have accomplished something.
I am finished school, and after working out a few kinks, I am going to be a Journeyman Carpenter. Like, FUCKING OFFICIALLY, ON PAPER, I DID IT, and WHAT a great feeling. It is the only thing I have accomplished in my short time on this Earth, that has meaning. Like, I DID it. Nobody nominated me, nobody handed it to me, nobody appointed me, or any of the rest, I attained it. And what a great feeling it really is to possess a skill that many people either can't do, or have no desire to do, but that in many circumstances is an incredibly important attribute. I can built stuff, and fix stuff. Its literally what I do. People like us (well the good ones anyways) build quality homes, offices, decks, fences, sheds, spice racks, you name it. Not just Carpenters either, there is many skilled trades that make the places that you enjoy, enjoyable. Don't ever forget that the next time you see some dirty sore old man, or young man working for what might eventually benefit you one day, like the road you drive on or "right there in that building behind you" (hah movie quotes).
Nobody else has to tell me, and if you do then thanks but congratulations to me. People complain about how working in construction is like living in the 70's because its so dated how we get treated, how we work in the mud, in the rain, in the snow, in the cold. I know I complain sometimes, but what I got to say? The Marines ain't the only strong, proud and few in this world.
Now if you will excuse me, I am exhausted from work.
Friday, April 15, 2011
So I Said...
Here is a letter I wrote to the JDRF earlier this week, just thought I might share it with you all before Sunday comes up, as its directly related.
To whom it may concern,
My name is Craig Swanberg, and I am 23 years old. I was just recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as of January 26, 2011. Fortunately enough, I have been quite lucky with my situation so far, as my benefit coverage through work has paid for my Diabetes supplies thus far, however I have come across quite a rude awakening.
I made a routine trip to the pharmacy earlier today to pick up my much required supplies, and upon returning to pick them up I was told that my benefits through work were no longer active. The reason being is that I am currently training as an Apprentice Carpenter, and as such am required to take two months off of work to attend technical training in between an otherwise regular year of work. The company who manages our benefits informed me that I was short on my hour bank to receive coverage for the months of April and May, and possibly carrying into June, as I hadn't acquired a sufficient amount of documented hours to continue my benefits. As a result I was stuck with the bill of paying for my supplies out of pocket, due to the fact that I have no insurance to supplement my benefits, or otherwise, which, as you may know is quite a pricey amount of money for the supplies required for the disease.
It is my understanding that Alberta Health Care does not cover prescriptions for any medication, which I find as quite an inconvenience for someone whom may not have benefits through work, or insurance especially when it pertains to quite expensive required medical supplies. Lucky enough for me, I am able to afford to pay for my supplies for a few months until my benefits do become available to me, as I will be returning to work in a couple of weeks, and will hopefully be receiving benefits within a couple of months, if not sooner to cover my medical costs, but I can't help but wonder what happens to the people who don't have the luxuries that I have available to me in regards to paying for medical supplies.
The reason for my letter is I am curious to know if the JDRF, or any association affiliated with Diabetes research has anything in place to somehow supplement people who struggle to pay for their diabetic supplies, or those who are not covered by insurance. Is there any way that someone is able to sponsor a family who is unable to easily obtain the required medical supplies, or at least contribute to the cost of these supplies? We have a Canadian Food Bank that is able to take donations of food and money to supply hungry families with at least some food, and also organizations that allow people to sponsor children all over the world, to give them at least some hope of eating and possibly getting an education. If there is no funding for the Diabetic community, is it possible that there could be? While research for a cure is an important issue, the idea of having people struggling to have to obtain medical supplies is also quite a serious, pressing issue that I can't help but think effects many people across the Diabetic community.
Please don't take this letter as an attempt to slander the efforts of the JDRF or the Canadian Diabetes Association, as that is not my motive. I am just curious to know if such types of funding are available, and if not are they plausible? Is there a way to introduce a program to make an already difficult condition easier for some people? If you could please return an email addressing my concerns as a member of the Diabetic community at your convince, it would be much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Craig Swanberg
I would just like to point out that the JDRF did not return my email as of yet. It was sent on Wednesday of this week, and no reply has been issued.
Little do they know as well, I am now making the issue public, well as public as possible for now.
To whom it may concern,
My name is Craig Swanberg, and I am 23 years old. I was just recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as of January 26, 2011. Fortunately enough, I have been quite lucky with my situation so far, as my benefit coverage through work has paid for my Diabetes supplies thus far, however I have come across quite a rude awakening.
I made a routine trip to the pharmacy earlier today to pick up my much required supplies, and upon returning to pick them up I was told that my benefits through work were no longer active. The reason being is that I am currently training as an Apprentice Carpenter, and as such am required to take two months off of work to attend technical training in between an otherwise regular year of work. The company who manages our benefits informed me that I was short on my hour bank to receive coverage for the months of April and May, and possibly carrying into June, as I hadn't acquired a sufficient amount of documented hours to continue my benefits. As a result I was stuck with the bill of paying for my supplies out of pocket, due to the fact that I have no insurance to supplement my benefits, or otherwise, which, as you may know is quite a pricey amount of money for the supplies required for the disease.
It is my understanding that Alberta Health Care does not cover prescriptions for any medication, which I find as quite an inconvenience for someone whom may not have benefits through work, or insurance especially when it pertains to quite expensive required medical supplies. Lucky enough for me, I am able to afford to pay for my supplies for a few months until my benefits do become available to me, as I will be returning to work in a couple of weeks, and will hopefully be receiving benefits within a couple of months, if not sooner to cover my medical costs, but I can't help but wonder what happens to the people who don't have the luxuries that I have available to me in regards to paying for medical supplies.
The reason for my letter is I am curious to know if the JDRF, or any association affiliated with Diabetes research has anything in place to somehow supplement people who struggle to pay for their diabetic supplies, or those who are not covered by insurance. Is there any way that someone is able to sponsor a family who is unable to easily obtain the required medical supplies, or at least contribute to the cost of these supplies? We have a Canadian Food Bank that is able to take donations of food and money to supply hungry families with at least some food, and also organizations that allow people to sponsor children all over the world, to give them at least some hope of eating and possibly getting an education. If there is no funding for the Diabetic community, is it possible that there could be? While research for a cure is an important issue, the idea of having people struggling to have to obtain medical supplies is also quite a serious, pressing issue that I can't help but think effects many people across the Diabetic community.
Please don't take this letter as an attempt to slander the efforts of the JDRF or the Canadian Diabetes Association, as that is not my motive. I am just curious to know if such types of funding are available, and if not are they plausible? Is there a way to introduce a program to make an already difficult condition easier for some people? If you could please return an email addressing my concerns as a member of the Diabetic community at your convince, it would be much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Craig Swanberg
I would just like to point out that the JDRF did not return my email as of yet. It was sent on Wednesday of this week, and no reply has been issued.
Little do they know as well, I am now making the issue public, well as public as possible for now.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Hockey Talk (the TUESDAY session)
I received several angry comments about not posting on Sunday, so my apologies but what PASSION! I am glad that people are enjoying reading this so far. I was busy watching baseball and cricket, as well didn't have much to write about, so I slacked off. This post will be the make up for Sunday, as well there will be another new Sunday Session this weekend. Promise.
This was a topic that was texted to me by someone whom will remain anonymous. I know who it was, but I don't think that names of suggestions are appropriate, however, I also don't want to claim credibility.
People who know me should know that I don't particularly enjoy, or care about hockey. I never played when I was a kid, I don't have a team, I don't know anything about the sport at all really. I don't see the attraction to it, its just not for me. Along with that, I don't like small talk. "Did it stop raining outside? Maybe it will FINALLY get sunny out." Shut up, seriously you can CLEARLY see outside to see if its raining or not, you know better, don't ask me just because we happen to be waiting in the same line to buy groceries or whatever situation you might find yourself in. This post is about one of the worst, horribly misused bit of small talk to exist. Hockey talk.
Now, I am not slandering the sport of hockey. I don't care about whether or not its a good sport, or who likes or doesn't like it. I am not arguing for it, nor against it as a sport. I also don't care if its "Canada's" game or a part of our heritage or not. I don't care for it, and I am not going to let my personal feelings get in the way of what this post is actually about. When I go to a hockey game, I don't really do it for my enjoyment. Yeah sure, I like to drink beer and sit around and shoot the shit as much as the next guy, but if I am going to a game it is usually with my Dad and Brother or a few of my friends and I am going for THEIR benefit. I want to spend time with the people I go to games with, thats why I go, not because I care about who's playing. Its a trade off, if you want to spend time with people (like me my dad and brother) then sometimes you have to do something that you wouldn't necessarily do yourself. Not to say its a chore for me to go to the hockey game, or that I resent having to go. Its just something I don't invest any time in unless I have to.
So point made, I don't like hockey. But it Canada, why is it that there is this expectation to just small talk, or "hockey talk" with strangers, or at work or wherever. Like for me that asshole at work who comes in, and hes a Vancouver fan (woooo...) and he says to ME "Oh yeah so Calgary had their hands full last night hey?" And I just want to say "Hands full? What was there a fire or something? Did the police have a big drug bust? I don't understand what you're talking about." They would of course come back with something like "Oh no I mean the game! THE GAAAMMEE!!! You know? We beat Calgary's ASS! Vancouver woo goo!! Yeah.. blah blah blah". This is where I start ignoring him because I don't fucking WATCH hockey and I don't CARE about hockey. Here is why it drives me nuts.
1. Believe it or not, NOT EVERYONE WATCHES HOCKEY!! Yeah I get it, its a big deal in Canada, people love their hockey, but why am I expected to know about it? The asshole you chit chat with at the bar, always brings up hockey, pulls out hockey stats, names, players, coaches whatever. Who cares? The worst part about it is if you say "Oh I don't watch hockey." You're SHUNNED! Its like you just told the person you committed murder. I hate having to pretend to strangers that I actually give a shit about how the Flames are doing. I don't even ever know what place they are in!! The expectation that everybody watches hockey is a stupid stereotype of the Canadian population. Even if the majority watches hockey, not everyone does, and the expectation that everyone upholds that you do is a fucking joke.
2. I hate it when people refer to their team as "we" or "us". Oh really you played for the New York Rangers this last season? Were you a RIGHT WING FOR THE CALGARY FLAMES! NO WAY I MUST HAVE MISSED YOU!! Actually, the TEAM won last night. The TEAM of professional players went on the ice and played hockey, and would have if you watched the game, supported them or otherwise. There is no WE making it to the playoffs. The CANADIANS made it to the playoffs, YOU had nothing to do with it, so shut the FUCK up.
Now don't take this the wrong way. If someone says "hey wanna come over for the hockey game?" and I say "Yes" and I get there and people are talking about hockey, that is fair game. I have several friends whom are brothers (lol guess whooo!!!) and they really enjoy their hockey, and they know their hockey. One of the things they like to do MOST is watch hockey and talk about hockey, and that's fine. If I am around them I know they are gonna most likely be talking hockey because thats what they like, and thats what they do. I don't care if people talk about hockey, I do care about how it has become a standard ice breaker for a Canadian conversation piece. If you wanna sit around and talk hockey while watching the game, and I am there to hear it, I knew damn well what I was getting myself into before I showed up at the door, so tough luck for me. Its all the extra random bullshit and nonsense that comes along with the sport and living in this country that quite frankly I have had enough of. The unfortunate thing is there is no escape.
So the next time you try to talk hockey with someone and they say "I don't watch that sport" don't say something stupid like "Are you even FROM Canada?" or look at them like they have three heads. Maybe try a different conversation piece, cuz there is plenty of people out there who would like to talk about something other than the fucking post season.
Swanny
This was a topic that was texted to me by someone whom will remain anonymous. I know who it was, but I don't think that names of suggestions are appropriate, however, I also don't want to claim credibility.
People who know me should know that I don't particularly enjoy, or care about hockey. I never played when I was a kid, I don't have a team, I don't know anything about the sport at all really. I don't see the attraction to it, its just not for me. Along with that, I don't like small talk. "Did it stop raining outside? Maybe it will FINALLY get sunny out." Shut up, seriously you can CLEARLY see outside to see if its raining or not, you know better, don't ask me just because we happen to be waiting in the same line to buy groceries or whatever situation you might find yourself in. This post is about one of the worst, horribly misused bit of small talk to exist. Hockey talk.
Now, I am not slandering the sport of hockey. I don't care about whether or not its a good sport, or who likes or doesn't like it. I am not arguing for it, nor against it as a sport. I also don't care if its "Canada's" game or a part of our heritage or not. I don't care for it, and I am not going to let my personal feelings get in the way of what this post is actually about. When I go to a hockey game, I don't really do it for my enjoyment. Yeah sure, I like to drink beer and sit around and shoot the shit as much as the next guy, but if I am going to a game it is usually with my Dad and Brother or a few of my friends and I am going for THEIR benefit. I want to spend time with the people I go to games with, thats why I go, not because I care about who's playing. Its a trade off, if you want to spend time with people (like me my dad and brother) then sometimes you have to do something that you wouldn't necessarily do yourself. Not to say its a chore for me to go to the hockey game, or that I resent having to go. Its just something I don't invest any time in unless I have to.
So point made, I don't like hockey. But it Canada, why is it that there is this expectation to just small talk, or "hockey talk" with strangers, or at work or wherever. Like for me that asshole at work who comes in, and hes a Vancouver fan (woooo...) and he says to ME "Oh yeah so Calgary had their hands full last night hey?" And I just want to say "Hands full? What was there a fire or something? Did the police have a big drug bust? I don't understand what you're talking about." They would of course come back with something like "Oh no I mean the game! THE GAAAMMEE!!! You know? We beat Calgary's ASS! Vancouver woo goo!! Yeah.. blah blah blah". This is where I start ignoring him because I don't fucking WATCH hockey and I don't CARE about hockey. Here is why it drives me nuts.
1. Believe it or not, NOT EVERYONE WATCHES HOCKEY!! Yeah I get it, its a big deal in Canada, people love their hockey, but why am I expected to know about it? The asshole you chit chat with at the bar, always brings up hockey, pulls out hockey stats, names, players, coaches whatever. Who cares? The worst part about it is if you say "Oh I don't watch hockey." You're SHUNNED! Its like you just told the person you committed murder. I hate having to pretend to strangers that I actually give a shit about how the Flames are doing. I don't even ever know what place they are in!! The expectation that everybody watches hockey is a stupid stereotype of the Canadian population. Even if the majority watches hockey, not everyone does, and the expectation that everyone upholds that you do is a fucking joke.
2. I hate it when people refer to their team as "we" or "us". Oh really you played for the New York Rangers this last season? Were you a RIGHT WING FOR THE CALGARY FLAMES! NO WAY I MUST HAVE MISSED YOU!! Actually, the TEAM won last night. The TEAM of professional players went on the ice and played hockey, and would have if you watched the game, supported them or otherwise. There is no WE making it to the playoffs. The CANADIANS made it to the playoffs, YOU had nothing to do with it, so shut the FUCK up.
Now don't take this the wrong way. If someone says "hey wanna come over for the hockey game?" and I say "Yes" and I get there and people are talking about hockey, that is fair game. I have several friends whom are brothers (lol guess whooo!!!) and they really enjoy their hockey, and they know their hockey. One of the things they like to do MOST is watch hockey and talk about hockey, and that's fine. If I am around them I know they are gonna most likely be talking hockey because thats what they like, and thats what they do. I don't care if people talk about hockey, I do care about how it has become a standard ice breaker for a Canadian conversation piece. If you wanna sit around and talk hockey while watching the game, and I am there to hear it, I knew damn well what I was getting myself into before I showed up at the door, so tough luck for me. Its all the extra random bullshit and nonsense that comes along with the sport and living in this country that quite frankly I have had enough of. The unfortunate thing is there is no escape.
So the next time you try to talk hockey with someone and they say "I don't watch that sport" don't say something stupid like "Are you even FROM Canada?" or look at them like they have three heads. Maybe try a different conversation piece, cuz there is plenty of people out there who would like to talk about something other than the fucking post season.
Swanny
Sunday, April 3, 2011
That Ol Euphoric Feeling
I would just like to say I am highly upset that the Chicago Cubs fans have been ranked number 1 as most annoying fans on www.spike.com. Even though who really gives a SHIT what Spike TV has to say about ANYTHING as they are morons, there is way worse sports clubs out there with worse/more annoying fans (I FEEL) than the Chicago Cubs, for example, Calgary Flames bandwagon jumping Mikka Kipursoff (sp?) fans. Fuck. Right. Off.
Anyways to buisness. I was just at Sobeys about half an hour ago and I couldn't wait to get inside and talk to my friend Kurstyn about Slayer coming to Calgary. When I did run into him in the meat department I was so stoked to share my excitement about the fact that I was going, and we started to discuss what we thought they would play, what we wanted them to etc. On my way home I started to think how unbelievable it really is to be able to make music that people are more than willing to be physically involved in. I mean, what actually physically compels someone to run full on into a circle pit and run around as fast as you possibly can throwing your fists forward? Why is it at hardcore shows people cram into tiny pits and quite literally spin and kick, punch and full on haymaker crowd kill people knowing that just inches away someone else is doing the same thing, or that someone at any minute could kick them in the side or back as hard as they can to get them out of the way so they can have their chance in the pit? How is it that musicians have the ability to make music so powerful that people want to jump onto each other and try and grab the microphone from the singer, or try and run across peoples heads?
I was thinking about all this, and it amazes me that music has such an ability to move people very literally into extremely dangerous situations. I am sure I am not the only one who gets this either, that feeling right in your gut just before you start to throw a windmill and barrel across a pit into a pile of innocent bystanders. Or when you're the guy holding onto a piece of the roof beam or rafters, or light support on top of a pile of bodies screaming lyrics at the top of your lungs at the band on stage. Or when you get on a stage that is elevated just above head height and you stage dive head first back into the crowd. When I saw Every Time I Die in Perth Australia, on my second or third time stage diving, there was a split in the crowd and I fell straight on my right shoulder and hit my head on the ground because I jumped clean over the people standing in the front row. When I saw Madball at Republik last summer I saw a guy run from one side of the stage to the other and jump about 8 feet horizontal and land flat face first on the ground behind a crowd of people. I just don't understand what compels us to participate in these dangerous ass activities, and its a question that will never have an answer. However, for a musician, what a feeling it must be to be able to make people build up enough emotion, enough passion, or enough faith in your music to put themselves on the firing line like that for you. I just give many thanks to all the artists I have listened to in the years for everything you have given me, even though you don't realize it. You are always there to remind me of some of the best days of my life. Music is the air I breathe.
-Swanny
Anyways to buisness. I was just at Sobeys about half an hour ago and I couldn't wait to get inside and talk to my friend Kurstyn about Slayer coming to Calgary. When I did run into him in the meat department I was so stoked to share my excitement about the fact that I was going, and we started to discuss what we thought they would play, what we wanted them to etc. On my way home I started to think how unbelievable it really is to be able to make music that people are more than willing to be physically involved in. I mean, what actually physically compels someone to run full on into a circle pit and run around as fast as you possibly can throwing your fists forward? Why is it at hardcore shows people cram into tiny pits and quite literally spin and kick, punch and full on haymaker crowd kill people knowing that just inches away someone else is doing the same thing, or that someone at any minute could kick them in the side or back as hard as they can to get them out of the way so they can have their chance in the pit? How is it that musicians have the ability to make music so powerful that people want to jump onto each other and try and grab the microphone from the singer, or try and run across peoples heads?
I was thinking about all this, and it amazes me that music has such an ability to move people very literally into extremely dangerous situations. I am sure I am not the only one who gets this either, that feeling right in your gut just before you start to throw a windmill and barrel across a pit into a pile of innocent bystanders. Or when you're the guy holding onto a piece of the roof beam or rafters, or light support on top of a pile of bodies screaming lyrics at the top of your lungs at the band on stage. Or when you get on a stage that is elevated just above head height and you stage dive head first back into the crowd. When I saw Every Time I Die in Perth Australia, on my second or third time stage diving, there was a split in the crowd and I fell straight on my right shoulder and hit my head on the ground because I jumped clean over the people standing in the front row. When I saw Madball at Republik last summer I saw a guy run from one side of the stage to the other and jump about 8 feet horizontal and land flat face first on the ground behind a crowd of people. I just don't understand what compels us to participate in these dangerous ass activities, and its a question that will never have an answer. However, for a musician, what a feeling it must be to be able to make people build up enough emotion, enough passion, or enough faith in your music to put themselves on the firing line like that for you. I just give many thanks to all the artists I have listened to in the years for everything you have given me, even though you don't realize it. You are always there to remind me of some of the best days of my life. Music is the air I breathe.
-Swanny
Sunday, March 27, 2011
It IS Nuclear Physics
Let me start by saying, no emails. No anonymous questions that need unprofessional advice. The offer is still there, write me if you need anything craigsundaysession@yahoo.ca
You know, the worst thing about having an unpopular blog as it currently is, is that most of the people reading it don't typically need an education. I know most of you, I assume, and you all keep up with current events somewhat, and if you fall into this category of people then you aren't a moron. Its the people who are too fucking stupid to know shit that need to be reading this sometimes, but then again, they probably still wouldn't get it. Another frustrating thing is that research on the internet is incredibly hard to come by unless you know creditable sources that you can refer to for just about anything. If you try and do research via Google, its fairly difficult depending on the nature of what you're searching for. This blog entry is about as creditable as I could make it.
At the same time as all these earthquakes began to rattle Japan, it was almost like the media had to warn North Americans about nuclear fallout crossing the Pacific and deforming our unborn babies, and poisoning our fish, and rotting our lungs. It seems now that the media may have slightly toned down on the fear mongering as headlines typically still read "Nuclear fallout not likely a threat to Western Coast", "Threats of nuclear meltdown still present, North America still okay" or whatever, but why is it that I still flip open the newspaper to read "Discovery" articles outlining the side effects of nuclear radiation on the human body?Before I get to an example, here is a little information for you. The Sievert (Sv)is the SI unit of dose equivalent radiation.
"The unit gray measures absorbed radiation which is absorbed into any material. The unit sievert specifically measures absorbed radiation which is absorbed by a person. The equivalent dose to a person is found by multiplying the absorbed dose, in gray, by a weighting factor (W). The weighting factor (sometimes referred to as a quality factor) is determined by a combination of: the radiation type, the tissue absorbing the radiation, and other pertinent factors."
The quote was taken from the non creditable source, Wikipedia. Sorry, best I could do. The following information was taken from the Calgary Sun from Tuesday March 22, 2011 in reference to radiation effects on the body, and some intake values;
1 Microsievert = 0.000001Sv
1 Millisievert (mSv) = 0.001 Sv
-On average, a human will intake 10 microsievert in one day. This equals approximately 3650 microsivert or 0.000365 Sv yearly.
-100 mSv (0.1 Sv) yearly intake is linked to increased cancer risks. The cancer risks associated with this number are however incredibly minuscule, and almost obsolete.
-161 mSv (0.161 Sv) is the highest level of radiation currently recorded in Japan. (Funny how nuclear fallout isn't a threat but they make mention of Japan?)
- 2 Sv can cause severe radiation poisoning that IS treatable.
- 4 Sv causes extreme poisoning, most often fatal
- 8 Sv no chance of survival from poisoning, even with treatment
- 50 Sv was the average radiation level after 10 minutes of standing NEXT TO the Chernobyl reactor after meltdown.
Something else worth mention is that there is over 50 nuclear fission products (so those that are created through the process of refining uranium 235, 238 and 239 as well plutonium 239, sorry I don't know exactly how it all works) some of which have a half life as little as several minutes, and some which range up to 300 million years. Half life is the period of time in which it takes a material to become half as potent in release of radiation from its original state, so it exponentially cuts itself in half through whatever period of time is related to is specific properties. Unfortunatly I was unable to surface the fission products that are found highest, and what their half lives are respectively.
So in relation to current events, here is some information about the Chernobyl reactor meltdown, and its effects on the surrounding area;
-A 30 km radius around the Chernobyl reactor site was evacuated after meltdown. The distance between Tokyo to Vancouver is ~7574 km (or in other words a RADIUS of ~7574 km if you use Japan as a reference of center, or 0,0 whatever).
-The Chernobyl incident happened due to flawed reactor design operated by inadequate personnel
-Although it is unclear how many people died as a result of the Chernobyl meltdown, its is estimated to be around 5000, including 31 initial deaths of the explosion and 28 firemen whom suffered from acute radiation poisoning due to immediate response to the situation and were exposed to large amounts of radiation
You know, the worst thing about having an unpopular blog as it currently is, is that most of the people reading it don't typically need an education. I know most of you, I assume, and you all keep up with current events somewhat, and if you fall into this category of people then you aren't a moron. Its the people who are too fucking stupid to know shit that need to be reading this sometimes, but then again, they probably still wouldn't get it. Another frustrating thing is that research on the internet is incredibly hard to come by unless you know creditable sources that you can refer to for just about anything. If you try and do research via Google, its fairly difficult depending on the nature of what you're searching for. This blog entry is about as creditable as I could make it.
At the same time as all these earthquakes began to rattle Japan, it was almost like the media had to warn North Americans about nuclear fallout crossing the Pacific and deforming our unborn babies, and poisoning our fish, and rotting our lungs. It seems now that the media may have slightly toned down on the fear mongering as headlines typically still read "Nuclear fallout not likely a threat to Western Coast", "Threats of nuclear meltdown still present, North America still okay" or whatever, but why is it that I still flip open the newspaper to read "Discovery" articles outlining the side effects of nuclear radiation on the human body?Before I get to an example, here is a little information for you. The Sievert (Sv)is the SI unit of dose equivalent radiation.
"The unit gray measures absorbed radiation which is absorbed into any material. The unit sievert specifically measures absorbed radiation which is absorbed by a person. The equivalent dose to a person is found by multiplying the absorbed dose, in gray, by a weighting factor (W). The weighting factor (sometimes referred to as a quality factor) is determined by a combination of: the radiation type, the tissue absorbing the radiation, and other pertinent factors."
The quote was taken from the non creditable source, Wikipedia. Sorry, best I could do. The following information was taken from the Calgary Sun from Tuesday March 22, 2011 in reference to radiation effects on the body, and some intake values;
1 Microsievert = 0.000001Sv
1 Millisievert (mSv) = 0.001 Sv
-On average, a human will intake 10 microsievert in one day. This equals approximately 3650 microsivert or 0.000365 Sv yearly.
-100 mSv (0.1 Sv) yearly intake is linked to increased cancer risks. The cancer risks associated with this number are however incredibly minuscule, and almost obsolete.
-161 mSv (0.161 Sv) is the highest level of radiation currently recorded in Japan. (Funny how nuclear fallout isn't a threat but they make mention of Japan?)
- 2 Sv can cause severe radiation poisoning that IS treatable.
- 4 Sv causes extreme poisoning, most often fatal
- 8 Sv no chance of survival from poisoning, even with treatment
- 50 Sv was the average radiation level after 10 minutes of standing NEXT TO the Chernobyl reactor after meltdown.
Something else worth mention is that there is over 50 nuclear fission products (so those that are created through the process of refining uranium 235, 238 and 239 as well plutonium 239, sorry I don't know exactly how it all works) some of which have a half life as little as several minutes, and some which range up to 300 million years. Half life is the period of time in which it takes a material to become half as potent in release of radiation from its original state, so it exponentially cuts itself in half through whatever period of time is related to is specific properties. Unfortunatly I was unable to surface the fission products that are found highest, and what their half lives are respectively.
So in relation to current events, here is some information about the Chernobyl reactor meltdown, and its effects on the surrounding area;
-A 30 km radius around the Chernobyl reactor site was evacuated after meltdown. The distance between Tokyo to Vancouver is ~7574 km (or in other words a RADIUS of ~7574 km if you use Japan as a reference of center, or 0,0 whatever).
-The Chernobyl incident happened due to flawed reactor design operated by inadequate personnel
-Although it is unclear how many people died as a result of the Chernobyl meltdown, its is estimated to be around 5000, including 31 initial deaths of the explosion and 28 firemen whom suffered from acute radiation poisoning due to immediate response to the situation and were exposed to large amounts of radiation
-UNSCEAR says that apart from increased thyroid cancers, "there is no evidence of a major public health impact attributable to radiation exposure 20 years after the accident."
- The number 4 Chernobyl reactor responsible for the explosion was OPEN, in the sense that there was nothing protecting it from leaking radiation had it exploded, while the Japanese nuclear reactors are enclosed and built in a manner to encase nuclear fission products, and prevent an explosion in the event of a meltdown.
So I ask the question, why is anybody scared of nuclear fallout reaching North America? The Japanese are smart as hell, have trained professionals looking after their reactors and have built there country based around the chance of earthquakes. If there ever was a real threat of nuclear fallout wouldn't the entire west coast be evacuated and relocated by now? There is no evidence that suggests that nuclear radiation is able to travel 7000 km in a potent enough dose to even get anybody SICK, let alone kill them. I just found all this information on nuclear energy very interesting, and quite enlightening. The bottom line is, don't live in fear of, well of anything that is thrown in your face really, but especially not something so stupid. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning then dying of radiation poisoning anytime soon. Don't like it? Read a fucking article dummy. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/inf07.html
-Swanny
Sunday, March 20, 2011
After Thought
So, I lied a bit. I did have something this morning to blog about, but I couldn't quite figure out how to write it out, and I mulled it over all day and I came to something. You got homework kids. That's right I am giving YOU a homework assignment.
I want you readers to talk to talk with your significant others, or call your parents, a friend you haven't talked to in a while or someone you really care about and tell them how much you really do. Maybe its just calling someone and letting them know that even though you haven't talked for a while, you're thinking about them, hope they are well and just wanted to see what was up. Call your parents and ask them how their weekend was and when you hang up the phone tell them that you ACTUALLY care about them. Email a friend of yours and tell them a few things that makes them special to you. Or guys, take your girlfriend out for dinner, like a real date like what you used to when you first started dating. If you're a bit cheap for that then make them dinner, or buy them some flowers just because. Its not valentines day, or someones birthday, or Christmas. You're not in trouble, in the doghouse, and their wasn't a death in the family and it shouldn't have to be like that to make someone feel special. Oh and girls you can feel free to take your man out too, or get him some roses. I bet he would really like you thinking about him too :)
The point is everyone is involved with a lot of people in their lives, coworkers, teachers, many acquaintances, and it almost seems that we never take enough time to actually stop and let those people that we really care about know how much they mean to us. The best part of it is, you won't get anything immediate in return for just telling someone you care, and you might never get anything in return, but I guarantee it will make them feel good, and let them have a good day. Its the booze, the TV, the Internet, the texting, the Facebook the drugs, that are all taking away from our ability to reach out and really communicate with each other, and communicating with the people you really care about is a skill better kept strong. There are just some things in this life that are worth holding on to, you just have to decide the best way of doing it.
-Swanny
I want you readers to talk to talk with your significant others, or call your parents, a friend you haven't talked to in a while or someone you really care about and tell them how much you really do. Maybe its just calling someone and letting them know that even though you haven't talked for a while, you're thinking about them, hope they are well and just wanted to see what was up. Call your parents and ask them how their weekend was and when you hang up the phone tell them that you ACTUALLY care about them. Email a friend of yours and tell them a few things that makes them special to you. Or guys, take your girlfriend out for dinner, like a real date like what you used to when you first started dating. If you're a bit cheap for that then make them dinner, or buy them some flowers just because. Its not valentines day, or someones birthday, or Christmas. You're not in trouble, in the doghouse, and their wasn't a death in the family and it shouldn't have to be like that to make someone feel special. Oh and girls you can feel free to take your man out too, or get him some roses. I bet he would really like you thinking about him too :)
The point is everyone is involved with a lot of people in their lives, coworkers, teachers, many acquaintances, and it almost seems that we never take enough time to actually stop and let those people that we really care about know how much they mean to us. The best part of it is, you won't get anything immediate in return for just telling someone you care, and you might never get anything in return, but I guarantee it will make them feel good, and let them have a good day. Its the booze, the TV, the Internet, the texting, the Facebook the drugs, that are all taking away from our ability to reach out and really communicate with each other, and communicating with the people you really care about is a skill better kept strong. There are just some things in this life that are worth holding on to, you just have to decide the best way of doing it.
-Swanny
Email Me!
There was something I wanted to do with my blog when I kicked it off. It was a suggestion given to me that I have people email in a question or concern of theirs, or something that they particularly want me to write about and I would do my best to answer it. I would like to extend that invitation, completely anonymous. If you have a question that you would like an answer from me, if I get any emails I might post it and my comment to it next week. Serious questions, concerns or comments only please as I won't respond to trolling. Well I might but your going to get a stupid answer in return. Email: craigsundaysession@yahoo.ca
I don't have much to write about today, sorry. Check back on Tuesday.
I don't have much to write about today, sorry. Check back on Tuesday.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Great Music Debate
Before I get started, I hope you all like my new look. I was told it was a bit hard to read before, and to be totally honest, I am not sure how I ended up with the scheme I did. The way the colours change and whatever.. didn't make sense.
Also, I am not posting twice today just because I missed last week. If you care, tough.
So a couple weeks ago now I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and he told me that I should blog to explain what the division of music is from requiring the most talent to the least talent. The division went something along the lines of (from greatest to least) Jazz, Classical, Metal, Rock, Pop, Punk, Hardcore, Hip Hop (no sub genres, and that is a guess at the order.) Anybody who knows me, knows that for years I have always defended my music as being superior, more talented or better to listen to than anything else, but here is the bottom line.
You CANNOT compare music from DIFFERENT genres directly on what is "better" or takes "more talent" unless they are close enough related on a musical, lyrical and sound level that it is physically possible to do so. Its like comparing apples to oranges. Its like saying 100km an hour is the same as 100mph. It doesn't fucking work. They are completely different styles and require a completely different skill set to make and produce. Here's why;
So you're a Jazz musician, and you understand music fundamentals and you can take your saxophone and SHRED it. You can pick up a piano and SHRED it. You can DECIMATE a jazz bass. You have magic fingers and can do all these great instrumental things, BUT you can't sing deep gutteral vocals at all, you can scream high pitched vocals at all, hell, as a matter of fact you can't even sing NORMAL and play an instrument. But say some guy in a metal band can shred guitar, knows how to play drums, and can sing while playing instruments, what requires more talent? What is harder to do? Duuuuuhhh ummmm I dunno.. thats kind of a weird comparison ya know.. two totally different things.. duhhhhh....
Guy who writes hip hop, can scratch, mix beats, rap, write rhymes, great stage performance, can't play guitar. Guy in a punk band can play guitar reeeallly fast, can write excellent lyrics, has great stage performance, can't really rhyme anything lyrically, can't mix music, has no idea how to mix a beat. What requires more talent?
Some girl has the highest qualification on playing the flute, some guy has the highest qualification playing piano, WHAT REQUIRES MORE TALENT? YOU CANNOT ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS!
If somebody is good at one instrument that doesn't mean that they have less talent credibility in the music world than someone who is not as good at two. The whole argument of saying that hip hop requires less talent than someone in a metal band is absolute crap. It is all dependent on what a specific person is GOOD at and has nothing to do with what requires more talent. You can go directly across the board and say "Said Metal band is more talented for these reasons" because you can directly compare their music styles and determine what is actually better! And also, just because someone plays 3 chords in a punk band doesn't mean that the don't have the ability to play in a metal band as lead guitar, they choose NOT to.
Music is based solely on preference alone, and its impossible to denounce another persons taste in music based strictly on "mine is better than yours because they play faster." You like what you like, and thats it! No arguments! Its good to you, bad to someone else! Whats better an apple or an orange? Well I dunno, do you need Vitamin C? If so I would recommend the fucking orange!
In addition, in many cases music is a "team sport" meaning that it is comprised of several individuals all good at a specific thing. So again what requires more talent, Pop, or Metal? Well a metal drummer is good at drumming, and a lousy singer, but Michael Jackson was (arguably, not my personal opinion) a good singer. Together as a BAND though, they can be good in their own respective genres.
Now that being said, there IS music that exists that is just absolutely awful, regardless of what genre its in. Made from recycled beats, artificially recorded voices to make you sound good when you can't sing, stupid, pointless lyrics. There is TALENTLESS music out there, that pretty much any band above them could reproduce in their respective genre. We all know these types of music, no need to really get into detail.
Now, I know there is exceptions to this argument and yes some areas may in fact require a bit more talent, but the bottom line is its a stupid argument that just causes people to talk in circles and throw sand at each other. So drop it!
-Swanny
Also, I am not posting twice today just because I missed last week. If you care, tough.
So a couple weeks ago now I was having a conversation with a friend of mine and he told me that I should blog to explain what the division of music is from requiring the most talent to the least talent. The division went something along the lines of (from greatest to least) Jazz, Classical, Metal, Rock, Pop, Punk, Hardcore, Hip Hop (no sub genres, and that is a guess at the order.) Anybody who knows me, knows that for years I have always defended my music as being superior, more talented or better to listen to than anything else, but here is the bottom line.
You CANNOT compare music from DIFFERENT genres directly on what is "better" or takes "more talent" unless they are close enough related on a musical, lyrical and sound level that it is physically possible to do so. Its like comparing apples to oranges. Its like saying 100km an hour is the same as 100mph. It doesn't fucking work. They are completely different styles and require a completely different skill set to make and produce. Here's why;
So you're a Jazz musician, and you understand music fundamentals and you can take your saxophone and SHRED it. You can pick up a piano and SHRED it. You can DECIMATE a jazz bass. You have magic fingers and can do all these great instrumental things, BUT you can't sing deep gutteral vocals at all, you can scream high pitched vocals at all, hell, as a matter of fact you can't even sing NORMAL and play an instrument. But say some guy in a metal band can shred guitar, knows how to play drums, and can sing while playing instruments, what requires more talent? What is harder to do? Duuuuuhhh ummmm I dunno.. thats kind of a weird comparison ya know.. two totally different things.. duhhhhh....
Guy who writes hip hop, can scratch, mix beats, rap, write rhymes, great stage performance, can't play guitar. Guy in a punk band can play guitar reeeallly fast, can write excellent lyrics, has great stage performance, can't really rhyme anything lyrically, can't mix music, has no idea how to mix a beat. What requires more talent?
Some girl has the highest qualification on playing the flute, some guy has the highest qualification playing piano, WHAT REQUIRES MORE TALENT? YOU CANNOT ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS!
If somebody is good at one instrument that doesn't mean that they have less talent credibility in the music world than someone who is not as good at two. The whole argument of saying that hip hop requires less talent than someone in a metal band is absolute crap. It is all dependent on what a specific person is GOOD at and has nothing to do with what requires more talent. You can go directly across the board and say "Said Metal band is more talented for these reasons" because you can directly compare their music styles and determine what is actually better! And also, just because someone plays 3 chords in a punk band doesn't mean that the don't have the ability to play in a metal band as lead guitar, they choose NOT to.
Music is based solely on preference alone, and its impossible to denounce another persons taste in music based strictly on "mine is better than yours because they play faster." You like what you like, and thats it! No arguments! Its good to you, bad to someone else! Whats better an apple or an orange? Well I dunno, do you need Vitamin C? If so I would recommend the fucking orange!
In addition, in many cases music is a "team sport" meaning that it is comprised of several individuals all good at a specific thing. So again what requires more talent, Pop, or Metal? Well a metal drummer is good at drumming, and a lousy singer, but Michael Jackson was (arguably, not my personal opinion) a good singer. Together as a BAND though, they can be good in their own respective genres.
Now that being said, there IS music that exists that is just absolutely awful, regardless of what genre its in. Made from recycled beats, artificially recorded voices to make you sound good when you can't sing, stupid, pointless lyrics. There is TALENTLESS music out there, that pretty much any band above them could reproduce in their respective genre. We all know these types of music, no need to really get into detail.
Now, I know there is exceptions to this argument and yes some areas may in fact require a bit more talent, but the bottom line is its a stupid argument that just causes people to talk in circles and throw sand at each other. So drop it!
-Swanny
Sunday, February 27, 2011
The Death of the Card Catalog
Is everyone as excited as I am? I have had waited a WEEK to get this out!!
But before I get started, has anyone heard about Rush Limbaugh's latest bit of political slander? Lady Obama, who is currently investing interest in childhood obesity, was caught on a recent vacation eating a meal consisting of greasy, fatty, ribs and other horrifyingly delicious foods, and then Rush Limbaugh has the nerve to comment on her very acceptable shape of frame saying that if she is going to be taking an active position in obesity issues, maybe she should practice what she preaches. Well, in case nobody knows, Rush Limbaugh is a fat, greasy obese slob of a man who has absolutely NO right to comment on the physical physique of a woman who at least appears to take quite good care of herself. I am pretty sure that even if you are fighting to solve obesity problems, you are allowed to eat a bit of fatty unhealthy food while you are on vacation, and it doesn't make you a hypocrite. Who is he to say that she doesn't eat healthy the rest of the time that she isn't being exposed by media? Just saying Rush maybe you should be concerned with your own fat fucking ass before you even dare attack someone else. Don't even think about dessert.
Anyways, as promised an entry about technology. As much as I hate to disappoint, its NOT about anti-lasers. If you were expecting anti-lasers, you might as well stop reading now.
Let me start off by saying I haven't been to a library in quite some time (I know shame on me!), so I am not 100% sure about this, but when was the last time you went to a library and saw a card catalog? Remember those big wooden shelves full of small drawers that you would open up according to letter and flip through a bunch of those cards until you found the book you were looking for? You would then have to write down the number, authors name, and whatever other information you were required to find it on the shelf. What I am getting at is I am not even sure if they exist anymore. I don't remember seeing them in the library the last time I was there, and why would there be? We have computers right?
Oh do we EVER have computers! We have phones that are computers, we have computers that are computers, we have TV's, and video games, and chip and pin credit cards. Its a wonderful time to be alive, with all these conveniences right at our fingertips. Think about the last time you wrote a hand written letter to someone and mailed it. I mean a REAL letter, not just a thank you or birthday card. You can even just text your regards these days. Email is also the new black. When was the last time you didn't use Facebook at ALL to get a hold of all your friends to go out for beers on a Saturday? Sure I get unlimited evening and weekend phone calls on my cellphone and I probably make 5 calls a month. Remember when you took a picture on a camera and you had to make it really count because you couldn't just pull it up on a screen and delete it if you didn't like it?
Where am I going with this, who cares right? Well, what I am finding funny is that the more I hear about my 6 year old niece going to school (Grade 1), the more I am hearing about her requirement to use computers to learn, be expected to do large math problems with little addition and subtraction background to follow her, and her dependence on technology to help her live her life. Computers are only a tool to help you do work more efficiently, and effectively. If you can't read and write, how can you type? If you don't know how to do math, how can you get by without a calculator? If you can't read a card catalog, how are you going to find a book in the library? This is the kind of emphasis we are putting on our children of today, to learn how to use technology, its the way of the future. You know what though, I don't have kids. If I got a girl pregnant tomorrow it would still be 9 months before I even HAD a kid and another few years before they went to school, so why should I care whats going on in our education systems right? My kids aren't there. No thats WRONG.
This new generation of kids are going to be OUR future when we get old, just like how we are our parents future now. What happens when you become the boss of some big company and you have to make a bunch of new hires and you have all these applicants that are too stupid to know shit because in elementary school they were taught how to use a computer instead of basic reading, writing, speaking, and math principles? This is EVERYONES problem.
I know this is a bit of an extreme view point and many people may say "Well Craig, you need to learn how to use computers to be successful, times are different than when we were growing up, look at how things have changed.." yadda yadda yadda. I went though school with very little computer use, and I know how to use them now! And I also know how to read, write, and speak! The point is, do we REALLY need to push technology on children at such a young age? What happens if the computers stop working and we have to resort to writing on paper again? Do we stop writing? What happens if our cellphones become obsolete? Do we stop talking to people that live further than a block away from us? And what happens if you are unable to go to the library one day and search for a book because computers are broken and there is no card catalog to point you in the direction of your literature.
Do we stop reading books? Something to think about.
Thanks for reading.
-Swanny
But before I get started, has anyone heard about Rush Limbaugh's latest bit of political slander? Lady Obama, who is currently investing interest in childhood obesity, was caught on a recent vacation eating a meal consisting of greasy, fatty, ribs and other horrifyingly delicious foods, and then Rush Limbaugh has the nerve to comment on her very acceptable shape of frame saying that if she is going to be taking an active position in obesity issues, maybe she should practice what she preaches. Well, in case nobody knows, Rush Limbaugh is a fat, greasy obese slob of a man who has absolutely NO right to comment on the physical physique of a woman who at least appears to take quite good care of herself. I am pretty sure that even if you are fighting to solve obesity problems, you are allowed to eat a bit of fatty unhealthy food while you are on vacation, and it doesn't make you a hypocrite. Who is he to say that she doesn't eat healthy the rest of the time that she isn't being exposed by media? Just saying Rush maybe you should be concerned with your own fat fucking ass before you even dare attack someone else. Don't even think about dessert.
Anyways, as promised an entry about technology. As much as I hate to disappoint, its NOT about anti-lasers. If you were expecting anti-lasers, you might as well stop reading now.
Let me start off by saying I haven't been to a library in quite some time (I know shame on me!), so I am not 100% sure about this, but when was the last time you went to a library and saw a card catalog? Remember those big wooden shelves full of small drawers that you would open up according to letter and flip through a bunch of those cards until you found the book you were looking for? You would then have to write down the number, authors name, and whatever other information you were required to find it on the shelf. What I am getting at is I am not even sure if they exist anymore. I don't remember seeing them in the library the last time I was there, and why would there be? We have computers right?
Oh do we EVER have computers! We have phones that are computers, we have computers that are computers, we have TV's, and video games, and chip and pin credit cards. Its a wonderful time to be alive, with all these conveniences right at our fingertips. Think about the last time you wrote a hand written letter to someone and mailed it. I mean a REAL letter, not just a thank you or birthday card. You can even just text your regards these days. Email is also the new black. When was the last time you didn't use Facebook at ALL to get a hold of all your friends to go out for beers on a Saturday? Sure I get unlimited evening and weekend phone calls on my cellphone and I probably make 5 calls a month. Remember when you took a picture on a camera and you had to make it really count because you couldn't just pull it up on a screen and delete it if you didn't like it?
Where am I going with this, who cares right? Well, what I am finding funny is that the more I hear about my 6 year old niece going to school (Grade 1), the more I am hearing about her requirement to use computers to learn, be expected to do large math problems with little addition and subtraction background to follow her, and her dependence on technology to help her live her life. Computers are only a tool to help you do work more efficiently, and effectively. If you can't read and write, how can you type? If you don't know how to do math, how can you get by without a calculator? If you can't read a card catalog, how are you going to find a book in the library? This is the kind of emphasis we are putting on our children of today, to learn how to use technology, its the way of the future. You know what though, I don't have kids. If I got a girl pregnant tomorrow it would still be 9 months before I even HAD a kid and another few years before they went to school, so why should I care whats going on in our education systems right? My kids aren't there. No thats WRONG.
This new generation of kids are going to be OUR future when we get old, just like how we are our parents future now. What happens when you become the boss of some big company and you have to make a bunch of new hires and you have all these applicants that are too stupid to know shit because in elementary school they were taught how to use a computer instead of basic reading, writing, speaking, and math principles? This is EVERYONES problem.
I know this is a bit of an extreme view point and many people may say "Well Craig, you need to learn how to use computers to be successful, times are different than when we were growing up, look at how things have changed.." yadda yadda yadda. I went though school with very little computer use, and I know how to use them now! And I also know how to read, write, and speak! The point is, do we REALLY need to push technology on children at such a young age? What happens if the computers stop working and we have to resort to writing on paper again? Do we stop writing? What happens if our cellphones become obsolete? Do we stop talking to people that live further than a block away from us? And what happens if you are unable to go to the library one day and search for a book because computers are broken and there is no card catalog to point you in the direction of your literature.
Do we stop reading books? Something to think about.
Thanks for reading.
-Swanny
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Introduction / Walk a mile in my shoes
The moment that some of you have been waiting for, the first Sunday blog entry. So as many of my friends already know, just in the past few weeks I was diagnosed with Diabetes. It really came as a pretty big shock, considering there is no history in my family of Diabetics, and just the fact that I developed it at such a late age. It has taken some getting used to, but every day gets a little better, and a bit easier to handle.
So where does a blog emerge out of all of this? Well just last week, a few of my friends were telling me that I should start blogging about my experiences as a Diabetic, or just a view from a different lifestyle. I thought about it for a bit, and then upon mentioning it to a few other people they also said that I should start blogging as they would love to read what I have to write about, and thus Craig's Sunday Session was born. I will not however be outlining my life as a Diabetic in this blog, because it would get boring. Diabetes isn't that exciting of a disease. Today I took more insulin, and I am still healthy WOOO!!!! Yeah doesn't sound too exciting. I do however have a story about diabetes as my first Sunday post. I know what you're thinking.. fucking get on with it already so without any more delay..
DISCLAIMER As this blog is not intended to be full of sad, angsty, depressing shit, this first post is a bit along those lines. Its not ment to be a pity party for me, or a story to make people feel bad, its just a story.
Back when I was growing up, I had a "friend" who was Diabetic. Back then, (and before I was diagnosed with Diabetes myself) I didn't know much about it, other than he had to take needles every day and had to make sure that he ate regularly. I call him a friend in quotations as he wasn't really my friend. As a matter of fact, until I was in about grade 7 I really only had one person I could call my friend. He and everyone else wasn't my friend, because I was their scapegoat. The people I chose to hang around with picked on me daily. I was always smaller than everyone else, so I always got pushed around. The "cool" kids throughout grade 5-9 always wore Tommy Hilfiger, Mavi, Silver, and other expensive loose fit brand name jeans. Mine were always the wrong brand, too baggy, to tight. My shirts were always too "gay". The way that I styled my hair was stupid, and the brand of skateboard that I chose to ride was never good enough for these kids. They never beat me up (in the extreme sense of the word), but they always called me names, made fun of me, threw me in dirt, and alot of other really terrible things. This went on for many years of my childhood, and continued into Junior High school until about grade 9 when I finally started to think for myself, and take responsibility for the people I chose to associate myself with.
There is one day that sticks out in my mind very specifically. It must have been around the time I was in grade 7, and I remember being on my bike down by the Shawnessy barn with the diabetic one and the fucking loser of a ring leader. I don't remember exactly what caused the outburst in the first place but I remember getting extremely mad and breaking down, yelling at the top of my lungs at the both of them, screaming at them to "FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" while they continued to make me more angry and upset. There was a woman who was also walking by at the time who intervened and told them to leave me alone and they proceeded to tell her that we were friends. She said "It doesn't seem like you're friends if he is telling you to leave him alone and if you are picking on him." The two boys told her to fuck off, in plain English, and while they were arguing with her I used the opportunity to ride my bike off and get away from the both of them. They eventually rode after me, caught up and got me to stop and get off my bike so we could sit down and talk.
By this point I had calmed down quite a bit, but still did not want to have anything to do with either of them, but I decided to stay and talk with them anyways. I told them "Do you really think its fair the way that you guys treat me? I haven't done ANYTHING to deserve any of this and you guys fuck with me all the time. Do you know what its like to have this happen to you on a daily basis? Maybe you should walk a mile in my shoes sometime." Well with that comment all hell broke loose, the Diabetic one freaked out and started yelling in my face saying "WALK A MILE IN YOUR SHOES? WHY DON'T YOU TRY WALKING A MILE IN MY FUCKING SHOES! DO YOU KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO HAVE A LIFE LONG CONDITION WHERE YOU HAVE TO TAKE NEEDLES EVERY DAY? I WOULD TRADE PLACES WITH YOU ANY DAY IF I COULD. MAYBE YOU SHOULD FUCK OFF AND THINK ABOUT WHAT ITS LIKE FOR ME!" The other boy agreed with him, saying to me that he had it was worse being a Diabetic and having to take needles every day.
I am 23 years old now, and now I AM a diabetic. I DO have to fill those shoes every god damn day of my life. I DO have to check my sugar, watch my diet, and take needles every day. And you want to know what I find really funny about all this? I still had a shitty time growing up, getting picked on, getting treated like shit, getting slapped around, getting made fun of constantly for everything I did. I had to walk in those shoes and now I also have to walk in yours, and because you can't change the past, I lived a shitty childhood, and am living with Diabetes now.
So FUCK you forever.
Thanks for reading. I know the first post was long, depressing, and sad. Like I said, its not intended to be like that. Its just my first post about my experience with Diabetes, which sparked this entire blog in the first place. Be sure to tune in next week when I voice some thoughts about technology. That will be one you won't want to miss.
-Swanny
So where does a blog emerge out of all of this? Well just last week, a few of my friends were telling me that I should start blogging about my experiences as a Diabetic, or just a view from a different lifestyle. I thought about it for a bit, and then upon mentioning it to a few other people they also said that I should start blogging as they would love to read what I have to write about, and thus Craig's Sunday Session was born. I will not however be outlining my life as a Diabetic in this blog, because it would get boring. Diabetes isn't that exciting of a disease. Today I took more insulin, and I am still healthy WOOO!!!! Yeah doesn't sound too exciting. I do however have a story about diabetes as my first Sunday post. I know what you're thinking.. fucking get on with it already so without any more delay..
DISCLAIMER As this blog is not intended to be full of sad, angsty, depressing shit, this first post is a bit along those lines. Its not ment to be a pity party for me, or a story to make people feel bad, its just a story.
Back when I was growing up, I had a "friend" who was Diabetic. Back then, (and before I was diagnosed with Diabetes myself) I didn't know much about it, other than he had to take needles every day and had to make sure that he ate regularly. I call him a friend in quotations as he wasn't really my friend. As a matter of fact, until I was in about grade 7 I really only had one person I could call my friend. He and everyone else wasn't my friend, because I was their scapegoat. The people I chose to hang around with picked on me daily. I was always smaller than everyone else, so I always got pushed around. The "cool" kids throughout grade 5-9 always wore Tommy Hilfiger, Mavi, Silver, and other expensive loose fit brand name jeans. Mine were always the wrong brand, too baggy, to tight. My shirts were always too "gay". The way that I styled my hair was stupid, and the brand of skateboard that I chose to ride was never good enough for these kids. They never beat me up (in the extreme sense of the word), but they always called me names, made fun of me, threw me in dirt, and alot of other really terrible things. This went on for many years of my childhood, and continued into Junior High school until about grade 9 when I finally started to think for myself, and take responsibility for the people I chose to associate myself with.
There is one day that sticks out in my mind very specifically. It must have been around the time I was in grade 7, and I remember being on my bike down by the Shawnessy barn with the diabetic one and the fucking loser of a ring leader. I don't remember exactly what caused the outburst in the first place but I remember getting extremely mad and breaking down, yelling at the top of my lungs at the both of them, screaming at them to "FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" while they continued to make me more angry and upset. There was a woman who was also walking by at the time who intervened and told them to leave me alone and they proceeded to tell her that we were friends. She said "It doesn't seem like you're friends if he is telling you to leave him alone and if you are picking on him." The two boys told her to fuck off, in plain English, and while they were arguing with her I used the opportunity to ride my bike off and get away from the both of them. They eventually rode after me, caught up and got me to stop and get off my bike so we could sit down and talk.
By this point I had calmed down quite a bit, but still did not want to have anything to do with either of them, but I decided to stay and talk with them anyways. I told them "Do you really think its fair the way that you guys treat me? I haven't done ANYTHING to deserve any of this and you guys fuck with me all the time. Do you know what its like to have this happen to you on a daily basis? Maybe you should walk a mile in my shoes sometime." Well with that comment all hell broke loose, the Diabetic one freaked out and started yelling in my face saying "WALK A MILE IN YOUR SHOES? WHY DON'T YOU TRY WALKING A MILE IN MY FUCKING SHOES! DO YOU KNOW WHAT ITS LIKE TO HAVE A LIFE LONG CONDITION WHERE YOU HAVE TO TAKE NEEDLES EVERY DAY? I WOULD TRADE PLACES WITH YOU ANY DAY IF I COULD. MAYBE YOU SHOULD FUCK OFF AND THINK ABOUT WHAT ITS LIKE FOR ME!" The other boy agreed with him, saying to me that he had it was worse being a Diabetic and having to take needles every day.
I am 23 years old now, and now I AM a diabetic. I DO have to fill those shoes every god damn day of my life. I DO have to check my sugar, watch my diet, and take needles every day. And you want to know what I find really funny about all this? I still had a shitty time growing up, getting picked on, getting treated like shit, getting slapped around, getting made fun of constantly for everything I did. I had to walk in those shoes and now I also have to walk in yours, and because you can't change the past, I lived a shitty childhood, and am living with Diabetes now.
So FUCK you forever.
Thanks for reading. I know the first post was long, depressing, and sad. Like I said, its not intended to be like that. Its just my first post about my experience with Diabetes, which sparked this entire blog in the first place. Be sure to tune in next week when I voice some thoughts about technology. That will be one you won't want to miss.
-Swanny
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)