Trivial gripes of little substance

Dear Jennifer Hudson,

If there's something you're up to besides talking about your body and/or Weight Watchers, we would all love to see/hear it.   Otherwise.....ummmm.....we get it.  You weigh less now than you used to.  Good on you.  But you've won an Oscar and the top-of-mind thing anyone knows about you now is that you went on a diet.  It may be time to move on.

Sincerely,

Everyone routinely exposed to mainstream media

I was super sad to find out today that Heidi Klum and Seal are filing for divorce.  I mean yeeeeesh.  If there was ever a couple you were sure would make it, it was those 2.  He adopted one of her kids!  What happens to that now??

There's been chitter chatter going on here in Winnipeg about one of the Winnipeg Jets skipping out on his cheques at a number of city restaurants, and not tipping even when his bill IS comped.  If this is true, it's obviously an inexcusable dick move.  It seems like the people who expect/get the most for free are the people who least need it. However, this is not the point of what I want to say. In the backlash against this individual (on Facebook anyways), people are super pissed because it "shows a lack of respect for the city" and are continually pointing out that "he's the one who never wanted to come to Winnipeg in the first place" and "maybe he's trying to get traded since he hates this city so much" and "Teemu Selanne would never do anything like that!".  Ladies and gentleman, the kid is 20 years old, with clearly more money than brains, and enjoying a fairly high level of professional success.  He's only been playing a couple of years, and if he didn't want to come to Winnipeg, who could blame him??  Winnipegers bitch and complain about this city ALL the time but God forbid anyone else do it!  If I was a 20 year old kid making bank like that, I wouldn't want to leave Atlanta either!!  Nicer weather, bigger market, less scrutiny.  Winnipeg has a completely (and nearly insufferable at times) small town mentality.  Evander Kane isn't Teemu Selanne and never will be.  That glorious man (apart from being the only Finnish person I could ever like), is a once-in-a-lifetime find.  Trying to do a side-by-side comparison is silly.

I went to my first movie of 2012 today, and saw Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  It was really, really good.  Really, really graphic, but tense and well done throughout (maaaaaybe a titch long?).  I find Rooney Mara vaguely unlikeable in interviews, but there's no denying this was a tour de force performance.  Even Daniel Craig, perhaps one of the most uneven and inconsistent actors working today, turns in something pretty great.  Go see it.  Apparently if it doesn't do a little better revenue-wise, they won't bother making the sequels :(

The Charles Barkley SNL a couple of weeks ago may very well be one of the best and most solid all the way through episodes of that show I've ever seen.  Barkley can't speak at a normal tempo or read a teleprompter and I for one find it hilarious.  The Daniel Radcliffe episode that followed the week after (the Lana del Rey performance notwithstanding) was one of the worst I've ever seen.  He's such a sweetie and tries so hard, but he was given nothing to work with.  The writing was just awful and uninspired.

Thus ends my collection of trivial gripes of little substance.  For now.


"Why you have 5 spare bedrooms???  You have 5 grandmas??" - Charles Barkley

A Lisa Simpson retrospecticus

I've never tried to compile a year's worth of opinions and impressions all at once before, but this year I've decided to give it a go.  It's the last year I'll be in my 20's and able to get away with being fairly insipid.  This is by no means a "best of" list, it's more of a "I like the most of".  I don't want angry emails challenging me on cinematography and musicology and why scientifically my picks don't represent the "best". 

So with no more ado, here they are.

Best Movies I Saw In '11
Bridesmaids
Fast Five
Friends With Benefits
No Strings Attached (2 movies about casual sex! What a banner year!)
Born To Be Wild 3D  (Seriously. See this if you get the chance)
Twilight Breaking Dawn

*Honorable Mention: Insidious was hands-down one of the scariest movies I've ever seen.  It was super well done, but I'd never want to see it again.

Worst Movies I Saw In '11
Dream House (thanks a lot Vee :s)
The Dilemma (Was this even meant to be funny? It was just awful)
Your Highness (Godawful. Perhaps the worst of the bunch)
Gnomeo & Juliet (I was so sad that this wasn't better!)
Our Idiot Brother (Just the worst kind of hipster crap)

Best TV Shows I Bothered to Watch in '11
Parks & Recreation
Criminal Minds
Modern Family (Getting a little weaker over time though)
Game of Thrones (Oh. My. God. So. Amazing)
True Blood
New Girl (despite my rampant annoyance with Zooey Deschanel's "quirkiness")

Best Book I Read in '11 (but wasn't actually published this year)
My Custom Van: And 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Your Face by Michael Ian Black.  The only book I've ever read and actually laughed out loud while reading.  Profusely.

People I'm Sad Died in '11
Jack Layton
Elizabeth Taylor
Harry Morgan
Heavy D
Peter Falk (Oh I love the Princess Bride!)

People I'm Not Sad Died in '11
Moammar Ghadafi


2011 was the year the world got angry.  Mother Nature did, in Japan, in New Zealand, in Brazil, and here in Manitoba.  Ordinary citizens did as well, in Greece, the U.S, Southern Sudan, the Middle East, and Vancouver, Canada, to varying effect, for things as noble as the struggle for democracy and self determination, to things as petty as a hockey team losing a game.  Where a lot of this anger will lead is largely yet to be determined.  But with it, in most instances, has come hope.  Hope for change, and hope for the better.  Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

Big News Stories of '11 (by no means comprehensive, just ones I paid attention to)
New Zealand earthquakes (February)
Japan tsunami/nuclear crisis (March)
The "Arab Spring" uprisings in the Middle East
The Royal wedding (whether anyone likes it or not, this was apparently a big deal)
The city of Vancouver embarasses itself hard in the wake of losing the Stanley Cup
That unbelievable massacre in Norway
Osama bin Laden (maybe) dies
The Jets come back (I for one couldn't care less if I tried, but other people seem to)
The U.S repeals DADT and the world manages not to implode
Occupy Wall Street
Steve Jobs dies (again, not a big deal to me, but other people seemed quite upset)
New Zealand finally wins the Rugby World Cup.  Flawlessly.
Europe continues to kind of.....fall apart.
Winnipeg is back on top as the murder capital! Take that Abbottsford!

If I think of anything else between now and the end of the year, I'll get back to you :)

Onto some other miscellany.

Is the purpose of Rogers TV spots to convince you that every single person on the Rogers network is a complete tool?  Gosh I hate advertising.  The 2 genuinely clever and/or cute ads you see per year really don't compensate for the thousands of idiotic ones you have to be subjected to to get to them.

Elizabeth Taylor's jewellery collection went to auction at Christie's in New York this week, and wow.  Richard Burton was THE man to be married to back in the day.  Everything truly stunning in the collection was something he gave her.  I can see why she married him twice.  Have a look.  It's like nothing you can believe.  The Legendary Jewels of Elizabeth Taylor.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to remember someone special that was lost this year.  Ashley Robinson was the first nursing student I ever precepted, when I had only been a nurse about 7 months myself.  It was a huge learning experience for us both, and I was so proud to watch her become a competent and respected professional, and to hear from nurses on other units what a great job she was doing.  Ashley died in June in an ATV accident at the age of 24.  If there's anything to take away from something so senseless, I guess it might just be to be safe.  Wear your seatbelts, wear a helmet, don't drink and drive, just be careful.  You don't want your family to be the one preparing for their first Christmas without their loved one.

Take care of each other and have a wonderful holiday season :)


"Every man is more than just himself; he also represents the unique, the very special, and the always significant and remarkable point at which the world's phenomena intersect, only once in this way, and never again." - Hermann Hesse

Hand-wringing! Pearl-clutching! Vapors!

This week has been full of ups and downs, and some consequential and inconsequential observations.  Strap yourself in!

People.  If you name your daughters things like Destiny, Jasmine, Crystal, Nevaeh, or Misty, you WILL end up with a stripper.  Don't act so surprised.  If you name your sons things like Tucker, Ashton, Jace, Jayden, or Parker, you WILL end up with a jackass.  Don't act so surprised.  If you're going to give your kids names' bizarre spellings like Kym-br-leigh, Aschyeleigh, or Kaytelynne, they ARE going to resent you someday, probably sooner rather than later.  Don't act surprised.

Has anyone else noticed since Ricky Gervais lost a modest amount of weight, he's not really funny anymore, he's just mean?  He used to be self-deprecating and clever, now his jokes are 90% "Isn't is funny how fat people are fat?" and "Isn't it funny how Charlie Sheen has substance abuse problems?  That's a smart joke that's not been done before right???  Right???"......Ummm....... His humor was sometimes kind of arrogant before, but now it's just....pitiful and irritating and desperate.

There are 2 pseudo-political issues sticking in my craw lately, and I'm going to address one of them this week.  The other one, I haven't decided.  Anyways, I don't pretend to have a deep and abiding understanding of the American political system, OR the American psyche.  At all.  But if media coverage is to be believed, the economy, widespread joblessness, or military involvement in overseas conflicts are nowhere near the top of the list of "Things To Address".  Nope, it's those pesky gays and the reprehensible idea that everyone should have health care.  But mostly the gays.  Somehow, other people's sexual identity is hands-down the most pressing issue facing America today, with most of the Republican candidates publicly appealing "Won't someone PLEASE think of the children?  How can we explain this sort of thing to the children?"  Well, you know what's easy to explain to children?  That everyone's different, and we should all respect that.  You know what's truly difficult to explain to children?  Rationalizations for bigotry and intolerance.  Rick Perry releases ads equating gays serving openly in the military with a "war on religion".  Rick Santorum makes nonsensical, ignorant comments every time he's asked about gay issues (which is all he's ever asked about, it's the only thing that comprises his platform).  And Michelle Bachmann and her husband run a clinic which claims to "cure homosexuality" with prayer and good old-fashioned Christian shame.   I think all of these things are far more difficult to explain to children (who, in the end, are far more understanding than the rest of us) than the simple fact that people love each other.  Why the American people are tolerating their political discourse being constantly steered in this direction in the face of far more serious and immediate problems, I will never understand.  As a little 8-year old boy whispered in Michelle "Pray The Gay Away" Bachmann's ear this past week in South Carolina, "Miss Bachmann, my mommy is gay and she doesn't need any fixing."  And as one of the most conservative people I know once said, "How does it affect me if Frank and Larry down the street want to get married?  Frank and Larry are already gay.  They already live together.  Being able to get married isn't going to make them gay.  How does their getting married affect me sitting here watching TV?  It doesn't"

I have no way of knowing if these are dentures or not, but if they're not, Billy Joel's teeth are exquisite.

And to the people from Russia who seem to be following pretty regularly, hey there!  Thanks for reading!



"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Vitriol and sparkles!

As most people know, I’m not a fan of Sam Katz, the mayor of this city circling the drain.  He treats this city with disdain and contempt, and seems to hold his office purely for the purposes of using this place as his own personal cash cow.  I’m not sure if he ever did, but he doesn’t even bother to try to keep up the appearance of caring about his job anymore.  And when faced with any manner of criticism, his response is to basically flip the public the proverbial bird.  Every. Single. Time.  Last year, Sam Katz held a taxpayer-funded Christmas party at a restaurant he owns, essentially funnelling the city coffers into his own pockets.  Unsurprisingly, people were kind of annoyed with this.  And yet he’s publicly doing it again this year.  "When people are busy, I’m able to get a significant discount to save us money," Katz said. "From my point of view, it’s a win-win."  Well….which is it?  Is it that you’re trying to save taxpayers the money (for something they shouldn’t be paying for in the first place) or is it that venues are all booked up?  Were you unaware the holidays were coming this year?  I’m going to go ahead and assume that any of the hundreds of local restaurants or caterers here in the city would have made room on their slate for a city hall function with a normal amount of notice, and would probably appreciate the business even more than Sam Katz’s already overstuffed pockets might.

Anyway, to this end, I emailed my city councillor Jenny Gerbasi, who has a long history of publicly defying Sam and just generally sticking in his craw.  I like this.  I emailed her Saturday morning when the story first appeared (Mayor Tells City To Go Eff Itself) and actually heard back from her on Sunday morning, stating it was she who had alerted the media to this repeat offense, and has refused to attend this function since the mayor started using it as an opportunity for personal profit.  Sam Katz is like Nickelback or the Conservative party.  No one seems to like him, but he always seems to do well….This city is so effing terrified of change, even when changing might mean a more ethical city hall and not existing for the sole purpose of making a rich asshole richer.

For those of you who caught the Victoria's Secret fashion show tonight, can we all agree it was pretty spectacular?  Maybe not the most spectacular they've ever done, but pretty close.  Plus they were without Heidi Klum for the first time, and it was definitely noticeable :(  Sparkly and fantastic though.  My 2 favorite looks were on Miranda Kerr and Alessandra Ambrosio (pics below), 2 absolutely gorgeous women who you would never guess in a million years have both had children.

This bra is apparently worth $2.5 million

 

 

 

 

This was actually much sparklier on TV :)

The only glaring ickiness of the evening was seeing Karlie Kloss' sternum as though you were looking at an X-ray.  You just wanted to make the poor girl a sandwich.

Moving on.....

Our beloved Bombers lost the Grey Cup on Sunday evening.  It was heartbreaking to watch, not because we deserved to win and were robbed, we weren't, this city could really just have used the boost, that's all.  The Bombers really didn't start playing til late in the 4th quarter, and by then it was too little, too late.  B.C, as much as I hate to admit it, played an awesome game.

Friday, November 18, found me and my best gal waiting in line, like so many other silly girls, for the opening night of Breaking Dawn Part 1.  I was satisfied.  Not thrilled, not disappointed, just satisfied.  It was fairly true to the book, and now the final installment won't be out for another year.  It's already been shot!  It's done!  Put it out!  Yeesh!

Things on the ICU front continue to chug along.  I have about a week and a half left in MICU, and as of yesterday, decided to do my 10 week specialized orientation in SICU.  Which means I am in the absolute middle of the course.  It feels like it's been much, much longer than 12 weeks already though.

Take care everyone! 

(Yes, I know the font changes about halfway through, and it refuses to be fixed!)

"It's a hell of a thing, to be able to recognize what makes you happy" - Lucille Ball

Apple of my swollen itchy eye

I find myself really wanting apples lately.  Which is an unfortunate craving since I've been allergic to apples since '03-ish.  It was one of the earliest of my now 6 or so fruit allergies.

I set up a Twitter account this afternoon, not because I really want to broadcast my 140 character thoughts to strangers, but because I felt I was missing out on some Michael Ian Black gems.  And so far, I find Twitter beyond annoying to try to use.  I really don't get the crack-like addiction people seem to have to it.  Facebook yes.  Twitter no.

I was out doing some shopping today when I noticed something.  Parents (many, not all) seem to feel that if they are able to tune out their screaming, crying child that surely everyone else must be too.  This in fact is NOT so.  Shockingly enough, like most problems, ignoring it doesn't make it go away, and it's probably the reason you're getting so many dirty looks.

Heavy D passed away this week at the age of 44.  Being some of the first hip-hop my white suburban self was ever exposed to, Heavy D & the Boyz will forever be straight up good times music to me (and really most other people too).  It's scary to think someone so young can just drop dead of pneumonia....

Watching this it makes you wonder when dancing changed.  Like back in the early 90's, were people really out at the clubs doing the running man and the Roger Rabbit?  It looks like aerobics and like you'd need a fair amount of clearance to get the job done.  I suddenly feel like watching New Jack City....

I may or may not hyperlink the crap out of this post.

With the devastating floods in Thailand, and the earthquake in Turkey, I got to wondering...how exactly does the Canadian government determine who should receive our foreign aid money and who shouldn't?  What causes the government to decide what it will match donations for and what it won't? I had doubts about the decision over the summer to send aid to Somalia, which is essentially a lawless failed state, and has recently overtaken Iraq in the prestigious race for "Least Secure Country In The World."  The average citizen suffers greatly under the weight of political and religious posturing and guerilla violence.  Aid pours in from around the world but is merely a trickle by the time it reaches those who truly need it, hijacked and quartered to fill the pockets of those doing the oppressing in the first place.  It would be really interesting to see what the final actual humanitarian impact of these donations really is, and what responsibility the government and foreign affairs are taking to ensure it's effective dispensation.  Meanwhile, hundreds have died, and hundreds more are missing in Thailand and Turkey, and there's been not a peep from the government about either.  No appeals for donations, no promises to match funds raised, nothing.  When the flooding in Bangkok recedes, it will not be infrastructure that will be most affected.  It will be public health hit by rampant disease and overwhelmed health care services.  This actually makes the provision of aid in this situation much easier and more straightforward.  And it's on a comparitively smaller scale.    There just seems to be no rhyme or reason to the selection process.  And if there is, foreign affairs should be explaining it to the people paying for it (I'm really not a John Baird fan and even less so in the wake of this.)

Does anyone else watch the Big Bang Theory?  Has anyone else noticed what an absolutely heroic amount of take-out these people consume?  Has that kitchen ever been used to make anything but toast?  None of them seem to work almost ever, where does this massive food budget come from???

Also, these McDonald's commercials, where one guy buys a cheeseburger for his roommate, and then tries to hide the flyer on the fridge that shows that said cheeseburger is $1.39.....ummmm....what's up with this?  Is it trying to state that there are people out there who are unaware that McDonald's is cheap crap?  Like the roommate thought he was eating a $7 burger instead?  Doesn't McDonald's theoretically probably have the biggest advertising budge in the whole wide world?  And this is what they came up with?

The Best of Chris Farley SNL special was on this morning and I turned it on to the Chippendales sketch he did with Patrick Swayze, and it was actually just kind of sad.  It was still funny, but the whole time it's in the back of your head that they're both dead now.  They also threw a Matt Foley sketch in, and David Spade giggles throughout.  I have to say, I love the live TV giggle.  Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, David Spade and Adam Sandler were all terrible for this and I love it.  I miss Will Forte.  If he's not going to do anything else with himself, why doesn't he just go back to SNL??

Aside from Breaking Dawn (which everyone who knows me knows I'm excited for. Yep. I said it. Deal with it.), I'm crazy excited to see the beginning of the Hunger Games trilogy.  It's always tricky when movies are made from books you love, but I'm optimistic. Still not totally thrilled with casting, especially Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, but it might be fine.  Better her than...I dunno....Miley Cyrus or some nonsense like that.  I still think Saorsie Ronan or Hailee Steinfeld might have been the way to go, but no one asks me about these things. Neither of the guy characters seem particularly good either, given they're both supposed to be fairly strapping and rugged.  I wasn't thrilled about Robert Pattinson as Edward the in Twilight series either, but I seem to have made do lol.  The book series was amazing.  I made it through each one in about 2 days apiece.  I definitely recommend them if you're looking for something engaging to read.

Have a fantastic week everyone :)



"I'm not a hairstylist, I just put new lids on a couple of trash cans." - Homer Simpson

Observations.

Zooey Deschanel: You are annoying.  You are the worst part of your new show and you're the lead character.

SICU: I am very happy with you so far.

Kim Kardashian: Get back with Reggie Bush.  You 2 are made for each other.

Busted elevator in my apartment that forces me to climb the stairs to the 5th floor all the time now:  I. Hate. You.

Herman Cain: If, like Tiger Woods, the women you've associated yourself with negatively keep coming out of the woodwork, I would find it deeply satisfying if that number were to get to and stay at 9.  Thank you.

Egg sandwiches with ketchup:  I cannot get enough of you lately.

November so far:  Your weather is terrific.  Keep up the good work.  Please.



"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today to make a new ending." - Maria Robinson