Happy Halloween,..yet goodbye to the social fabric of a once great province. Ever since 'the Quiet Revolution' Quebec has been in a downward cultural spiral which can only compare to advanced cancer. In the 1950's Quebec had the distinction of being North America's jewel for the Catholic Church. Faith occupied everyone's daily life and Mass attendance was around 95%. Now fast forward 50plus years later and we have Mass attendance at 5% of all French Speaking Roman Catholics. Indifference slowly gives way to secularism and throw in the 'sexual revolution' we end up with a western culture attempting to contracept themselves out of existance. Why so moody, and pessimistic, you ask? Well, the answer is simple. I did not go to work today, cause I needed to get some shopping done for my friends' Halloween party. Upon arriving at the store, (this morning,..so clearly everyone else had the same idea..)picking up my supplies, (pinky ring, teeth grill,..etc) I got in a line to pay at the cash. The woman in front of me was with her daughter, about 13years old (no I don't know why she wasn't in school...)and buying a KIDS SIZE playboy bunny costume.
Does anyone else see what is wrong with this picture? We are in deep trouble...All I know, is that I can assure you, that if I ever have a daughter, there is probably more of a chance that I would grow wings and fly, before I would ever buy her a playboy bunny costume,..let alone KIDS version!
Habs over Minnesota 2-1 (thanks to Carey Price)
Happy Halloween. (BTW, no I'm not going as a pimp, I am going as Bob 'Elvis' Gratton...)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Falardeau follies,..a few days late
I wanted to touch on this earlier in the week, but was distracted by other more important things. Nevertheless, Quebec's answer to Don Cherry popped up in the news this week, when he called David Suzuki,"un Japanouille..." Pierre Falardeau, a Canadian filmmaker(yes, that is what it says on his passport, CANADIAN) and cultural curiosity is somewhat of an iconic figure among die-hard separatists. Now, I'm not talking about a family member or friend with nationalist leanings that you could have a legitamite debate with,..I'm talking about a full-fledged kook who is pissed off about the Battle on the plains of Abraham, and is still looking for a rematch. Sadly, the separatist movement harbours these nutjobs and gives them active membership in the Parti Quebecois. It is sad really, 'cause most separatists I know, really don't dislike Canada, they just see Quebec Independance as a way to affirm their cultural identity( I of course disagree, an independant Quebec after inflation with no trade partners might as well be named Quebexico) ....As for David Suzuki, he was upset that the Tories took as many seats as they did in Quebec despite the cuts to arts, and of course Harper's less than apparent environmental disposition.
Every one has a right to their point of view. I, or for that matter any other person might disagree, but we have to respect a person's opinion. What I don't respect is a clown using federal funding to subsidize separatist propaganda then complaining when the Feds won't give him money.(15 Fevrier 1839) Yes, Mr Falardeau is entitled to his opinion, but next time watch as how many left-leaning 'tolerant' students attend his lectures at various cegeps. I would love to see him meet the Phelps family from Westboro Baptist.
Till tomorrow,
Every one has a right to their point of view. I, or for that matter any other person might disagree, but we have to respect a person's opinion. What I don't respect is a clown using federal funding to subsidize separatist propaganda then complaining when the Feds won't give him money.(15 Fevrier 1839) Yes, Mr Falardeau is entitled to his opinion, but next time watch as how many left-leaning 'tolerant' students attend his lectures at various cegeps. I would love to see him meet the Phelps family from Westboro Baptist.
Till tomorrow,
Onward Jehovah Witness Soldiers,...
A brisk Saturday morning brings about the sights and smells of many things. Freshly cut lawns are perpetuating the aroma of nature throughout the neighborhood as the dew settles and lone birds chirp the beginning of the weekend. Then from the distance I can see movement,..They are too far away, yet closing in on my house. Their faces are sullen, almost melancholly as they get turned away more times than a vacuum salesman. They've arrived. Ready to deliver their message which is usually apocalyptic in nature, brasing themselves for another rejection....Wait! I am listening and they look at each other as if I'd just passed gas in a museum. I invite them in, they see my office, my library if you will. Their energy starts to drain as I pull out a Greek Concordance, my own copy of their Bible as well as a standard one and begin to ask questions...Now I control the conversation, and begin to pepper them with concerns. (One can almost see the sparks as their active intellect begins to process what for the first time is a rebuttal.) Now they are on the defensive, and within five minutes of me exposing their incoherrent logic, they create an excuse to leave. The seed however has been planted. I will later pray a 'Hail Mary.'...They usually don't go to the next house, and the fresh cup of coffee that I brewed will go to waste...
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Venting,...thru Verbal diarrhea...
Last night, I began to reflect upon modern psychology and its grip, if you will on Western culture. It would seem that every action that a human being undertakes in today's world is the direct result of some emotional traumatic event buried deep within someone's subconscious. That being said, throw in a little subjective philosophical thinking and out come enough pundits of 'political correctness' to start a terrorist group. There is no doubt in my mind that humanity is losing its marbles, especially in the 'Christian West.'
The result is that we are flipping everything upside down! Children are starving in the world yet we parade our dogs in little jackets. (somehow being to ignorant to the idea that nature has equiped man's best friend with fur!) Criminals, whose rational appetite has freely led them to commit various atrocities are excused because some PHD (in psychology by the way...)has deemed them to be really the victim. So what do people do? They start seeing a 'shrink' who tells them exactly what they want hear, I mean it isn't really their fault, they were marked by their childhood. Whatever distracts the individual from putting the blame upon themselves, has turned out to be big business worth lots of money. My question is simple. WHERE HAS OBJECTIVE TRUTH GONE? Ohhh, its out there, just not politically correct to say so. Perhaps one day, our mindset will be soooo open minded, that our brain may fall out. That is the ultimate goal of liberalism.
On a lighter note,...HABS win! (3-2 shootout over the 'Canes)
Peace
The result is that we are flipping everything upside down! Children are starving in the world yet we parade our dogs in little jackets. (somehow being to ignorant to the idea that nature has equiped man's best friend with fur!) Criminals, whose rational appetite has freely led them to commit various atrocities are excused because some PHD (in psychology by the way...)has deemed them to be really the victim. So what do people do? They start seeing a 'shrink' who tells them exactly what they want hear, I mean it isn't really their fault, they were marked by their childhood. Whatever distracts the individual from putting the blame upon themselves, has turned out to be big business worth lots of money. My question is simple. WHERE HAS OBJECTIVE TRUTH GONE? Ohhh, its out there, just not politically correct to say so. Perhaps one day, our mindset will be soooo open minded, that our brain may fall out. That is the ultimate goal of liberalism.
On a lighter note,...HABS win! (3-2 shootout over the 'Canes)
Peace
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Charest Rumormill, and why Ultra Magnus WAS an effective leader,..
Newsreels are buzzing with the probable call for a provincial election next week. It would seem that this past weekend which saw both opposition parties hold conventions, the falling Canadian dollar, and the statement from our premier that the National Assembly is not functioning are all part of a greater cosmic plan to induce us Quebecers to go to the polls. I think Charest's intentions are good, his approval rating is high and we will need a majority government to handle whatever financial crisis already brewing in embryonic form.
The Action Democratique defections, will ultimately have to stand up to their voters' reactions and see how well this plays out. Mr. Dumont's values seem to reflect the social conservatism of Stephen Harper at the federal level, but this can be a good thing in Quebec's regions, where people are very Nationalistic yet not outright separatist.
The Parti Quebecois (greying heads and all...) with Pauline Marois will attempt to seduce us with their xenophobic, close minded separatism that form the backbone of their 'raison-d'etre.' (Imagine, a looming economic crisis, and these people want to talk separation!!! We should be asking ourselves, what alternate dimension do these people come from?)
A final note on this point, although I share many social values with Mr. Dumont, I believe the Liberals are much better positioned to govern, and take action should anything come up. Time and again, Mr. Charest has shown himself not the pawn of Ottawa as the separatists charge, but a proud Quebecois, open to decentralized federalism. On a side note, Mr. Dumont's 'autonomist' vision makes me think of Vatican City, I mean c'mon, it is cute!
Now on to something totally different...(my girlfriend at this point, will point out my ADD...)
Growing up, and still now, the Transformers (G1 series)were etched into my very 'being' from an early age. Optimus Prime(in many respects a Christ-like character like Aslan the lion)battled for truth, justice and peace in the universe. Fast-forward to 1986. The first Transformers movie (animated) is released and my father brings me to see my hero. Welllllll,..talk about dealing with a death in the family, Prime's death marked my childhood, even when they brought him back (cause parents were complaining...)it still didn't change the fact that he died,...in battle,..heroically,..through Megatron's scheming,..you get my point? DEAD. Prime, on his death bed passes the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus, who fumbles it like a football resulting in a younger autobot touching it first thereby imprinting him.(Rodimus Prime..)
A little bit of history on Ultra Magnus. Magnus started off as Dion, a friend of Orion Pax (Optimus Prime)and was rebuilt shortly after Prime. Both autobots were the prototypes for new defenders, or soldiers. Both were meant to lead. Magnus took over the autobot forces on Cybertron until he found Prime on Earth, shortly thereafter, he rejoined Prime and constructed what is known as Autobot city. Ultra Magnus in short was an autobot general, kinda like Colin Powell. Soooooo, now Magnus has the big chair, and is trying to rebuild after an all night attack resulting in several prominant autobot casualties,(Iron Hide, Ratchet, Prowl, Braun, Wheeljack and Windcharger to name a few.) Meanwhile, Megatron now mortally wounded and discarded into deep space by Starscream receives an upgrade from Unicron. People, if ya don't know,..rent the freakin' movie! Magnus saves the remaining autobots from an attack on his shuttle by splitting up the shuttle and then sacrifices himself on the planet of Junk. (Magnus is later rebuilt by the Junkions...)
The verdict is Ultra Magnus is resolute, and very willing to sacrifice himself to save his troops. In season three, Magnus acts as 'consigliere' to Rodimus, and commands most of the military operations. If I ever have twin boys, I will name them Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus! How 'bout them apples?! Yeah,..! Had enough? Time for me to transform and roll out...
The Action Democratique defections, will ultimately have to stand up to their voters' reactions and see how well this plays out. Mr. Dumont's values seem to reflect the social conservatism of Stephen Harper at the federal level, but this can be a good thing in Quebec's regions, where people are very Nationalistic yet not outright separatist.
The Parti Quebecois (greying heads and all...) with Pauline Marois will attempt to seduce us with their xenophobic, close minded separatism that form the backbone of their 'raison-d'etre.' (Imagine, a looming economic crisis, and these people want to talk separation!!! We should be asking ourselves, what alternate dimension do these people come from?)
A final note on this point, although I share many social values with Mr. Dumont, I believe the Liberals are much better positioned to govern, and take action should anything come up. Time and again, Mr. Charest has shown himself not the pawn of Ottawa as the separatists charge, but a proud Quebecois, open to decentralized federalism. On a side note, Mr. Dumont's 'autonomist' vision makes me think of Vatican City, I mean c'mon, it is cute!
Now on to something totally different...(my girlfriend at this point, will point out my ADD...)
Growing up, and still now, the Transformers (G1 series)were etched into my very 'being' from an early age. Optimus Prime(in many respects a Christ-like character like Aslan the lion)battled for truth, justice and peace in the universe. Fast-forward to 1986. The first Transformers movie (animated) is released and my father brings me to see my hero. Welllllll,..talk about dealing with a death in the family, Prime's death marked my childhood, even when they brought him back (cause parents were complaining...)it still didn't change the fact that he died,...in battle,..heroically,..through Megatron's scheming,..you get my point? DEAD. Prime, on his death bed passes the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus, who fumbles it like a football resulting in a younger autobot touching it first thereby imprinting him.(Rodimus Prime..)
A little bit of history on Ultra Magnus. Magnus started off as Dion, a friend of Orion Pax (Optimus Prime)and was rebuilt shortly after Prime. Both autobots were the prototypes for new defenders, or soldiers. Both were meant to lead. Magnus took over the autobot forces on Cybertron until he found Prime on Earth, shortly thereafter, he rejoined Prime and constructed what is known as Autobot city. Ultra Magnus in short was an autobot general, kinda like Colin Powell. Soooooo, now Magnus has the big chair, and is trying to rebuild after an all night attack resulting in several prominant autobot casualties,(Iron Hide, Ratchet, Prowl, Braun, Wheeljack and Windcharger to name a few.) Meanwhile, Megatron now mortally wounded and discarded into deep space by Starscream receives an upgrade from Unicron. People, if ya don't know,..rent the freakin' movie! Magnus saves the remaining autobots from an attack on his shuttle by splitting up the shuttle and then sacrifices himself on the planet of Junk. (Magnus is later rebuilt by the Junkions...)
The verdict is Ultra Magnus is resolute, and very willing to sacrifice himself to save his troops. In season three, Magnus acts as 'consigliere' to Rodimus, and commands most of the military operations. If I ever have twin boys, I will name them Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus! How 'bout them apples?! Yeah,..! Had enough? Time for me to transform and roll out...
Monday, October 27, 2008
China Exists,..despite the fact that I've never been there...
In my first post weekend blog, I would have loved to start off with something lite, Cyber Synday, for instance saw the return of the Honky Tonk Man to face the this generation's Chris Jericho in the form of Santino Marella. I must confess, however that due to unforseen circumstances, I missed the show.
I was sent an email from Father Joseph Lee FSSP regarding a recent 'Theology on Tap' presentation he had done, specifically on the existence and activity of the Angels. Sitting at a Tim Horton's was myself, my girlfriend and a seminarian friend of mine. This of course, became our focal conversation which lasted well over an hour much to my girlfriend's contained enthusiasm!!(Sarcasm...) It would seem that our sophisticated world of 'Descartian' bullsh...er nonsense has given way to ridiculous conclusions. Bill Maher for example in hollywood only furthers his own ignorance by equating rationalism with atheism. Perhaps his feeble intellect concludes that chaos can bring about order, I mean I believed that once, but soon realized my room wasn't about to clean itself!
Back to angels,..and specifically the question, do angels exist? To that I resoundly say YES! But how do we know? Well by two ways, induction and deduction.(shout out to St. Thomas Aquinas!) Ooouuhhh, I can almost hear the groans through the internet. So let me simplify, St Thomas in the 'Summa' looks at the universe and concludes from 'Absolute Being'(God) all the way to 'rocks' there are gradual degrees. For example, a rock is inanimate matter, it just sits there, plants are animate and they grow...beasts (animals) grow and sense, man will grow sense and reason therefore is both body and spirit,....and then there is a big jump to God or Absolute Being. We can know that a piece of this puzzle is missing, therefore conclude that there must be pure spirits who are created possessing perfect knowledge. That being said, if we throw a little 'Revelation' on top of that, St Paul states that our battle is not against 'flesh and blood' but against 'powers and principalities'(two of the nine choirs of Angels).
Faith aside, why even in some liberal circles of the Church are the existence of Angels openly questioned? I would argue that because we live in a sensual world, that is if we don't see it or experience it, it isn't there. The Church would not sanction prayers to St. Michael if he were just a literary device as some 'progressive theologians' put it. All in all, I'm glad for the existence of angels, too often I've screwed up, thank God I have a guardian looking out for me.
So there you have it, the 'unforseen' circumstances,..angelic talk over coffee. In future posts, I will speak on the intelligence of angels as well as the demonic.
Annnd that's the bottom line,..cause MARCO said so! (glass breaks..lol!!!)
I was sent an email from Father Joseph Lee FSSP regarding a recent 'Theology on Tap' presentation he had done, specifically on the existence and activity of the Angels. Sitting at a Tim Horton's was myself, my girlfriend and a seminarian friend of mine. This of course, became our focal conversation which lasted well over an hour much to my girlfriend's contained enthusiasm!!(Sarcasm...) It would seem that our sophisticated world of 'Descartian' bullsh...er nonsense has given way to ridiculous conclusions. Bill Maher for example in hollywood only furthers his own ignorance by equating rationalism with atheism. Perhaps his feeble intellect concludes that chaos can bring about order, I mean I believed that once, but soon realized my room wasn't about to clean itself!
Back to angels,..and specifically the question, do angels exist? To that I resoundly say YES! But how do we know? Well by two ways, induction and deduction.(shout out to St. Thomas Aquinas!) Ooouuhhh, I can almost hear the groans through the internet. So let me simplify, St Thomas in the 'Summa' looks at the universe and concludes from 'Absolute Being'(God) all the way to 'rocks' there are gradual degrees. For example, a rock is inanimate matter, it just sits there, plants are animate and they grow...beasts (animals) grow and sense, man will grow sense and reason therefore is both body and spirit,....and then there is a big jump to God or Absolute Being. We can know that a piece of this puzzle is missing, therefore conclude that there must be pure spirits who are created possessing perfect knowledge. That being said, if we throw a little 'Revelation' on top of that, St Paul states that our battle is not against 'flesh and blood' but against 'powers and principalities'(two of the nine choirs of Angels).
Faith aside, why even in some liberal circles of the Church are the existence of Angels openly questioned? I would argue that because we live in a sensual world, that is if we don't see it or experience it, it isn't there. The Church would not sanction prayers to St. Michael if he were just a literary device as some 'progressive theologians' put it. All in all, I'm glad for the existence of angels, too often I've screwed up, thank God I have a guardian looking out for me.
So there you have it, the 'unforseen' circumstances,..angelic talk over coffee. In future posts, I will speak on the intelligence of angels as well as the demonic.
Annnd that's the bottom line,..cause MARCO said so! (glass breaks..lol!!!)
Friday, October 24, 2008
Not exactly the Monday Night Wars,....
Scott Hall suddenly shows up on Nitro in May of 1996, this of course led to a series of events catapulting the NWO into the forefront of the prowrestling industry. Yesterday, Jean Charest's Liberals raided the Action Democratique du Quebec and came away with a few new faces. Wow, if only politics were like wrestling,..well in retrospect they kinda are. Now I know what your thinking, (how cute,..Marco didn't take his meds today..umm)but upon closer inspection can we not draw upon the analogy?
The history of the main parties in Quebec for the last 40yrs is very comparable to the NWA(WCW) vs WWF(E) wars of the last 15yrs ending in 2001. (Please don't email me saying that TNA is a serious threat to Vince,..it is nothing more than a carnival-esque side attraction which should fizzle out in a few injuries,..err,.I mean years.) The Parti Quebecois represents NWA. Mismanaged, poorly organized, a collection of political ideologies across the spectrum from the center-right approach of Bernard Landry and Jacques Parizeau to the socialist leftist views of Pauline Marois. Of course this reflected their governing style as the PQ's last government had three(3!!!) ministers of health. The point being is that this what we would call more of a coalition than a party. Everyone was assembled based on article 1 of the PQ platform, to achieve Quebec Independance. (On a side note, is that even the PQ is divided on the issue of separation, some favour an economic and political partnership with English Canada we could easily call open federalism, while others favour outright Independance.)
The Quebec Liberal Party is like WWE. A tight ship with clear objectives, namely good governance. Claude Ryan, (Vince McMahon Sr.) and Robert Bourassa (Vince Jr)are two people associated with this party. Although 'Liberal,' it is actually more center-right especially under the leadership of Jean Charest. Staunchly federalist yet nationalist at the same time, and trying to attract foreign investment for the province.
The Action Democratique represents WCW. Although in reality the ADQ sprung out of the Quebec Liberal youth wing, in 1995 it sided with the 'Yes' option. Mario Dumont (Eric Bischoff) represented a right wing approach to the Quebec question. He favours big business and Harper-style social conservatism. Mr Dumont furthers his own schizophrenia by labeling his party 'autonomous' in regards to the Quebec question. The last provincial election saw the ADQ come in as the official opposition in a minority liberal government.
Okay,....now that I've prefessed that long piece of nonsense, (thereby cementing my readers' aforementioned conclusion that 'yes',..I do have ADD...)I can get to the meat of this week. To start, the speaker of the House resigned (Michel Bissonet). It is customary that a speaker be chosen, usually from the sitting government to replace him. The PQ got together with the ADQ to support Francois Gendron without the government's consent. (Remember this is a minority government...) To retaliate, the Liberals raid two ADQ members, Pierre Michel Auger and Andre Riedl. What 's next stay tuned!...
To conclude, if you think politics are boring just imagine Jim Ross and Jerry 'the King' Lawler on commentary! It's much more interesting than you think!!!
(oh yeah,..Lucian Bouchard is akin to Jeff Jarrett, an opportunist willing to jump ship whenever he can!!!...)
See ya.
The history of the main parties in Quebec for the last 40yrs is very comparable to the NWA(WCW) vs WWF(E) wars of the last 15yrs ending in 2001. (Please don't email me saying that TNA is a serious threat to Vince,..it is nothing more than a carnival-esque side attraction which should fizzle out in a few injuries,..err,.I mean years.) The Parti Quebecois represents NWA. Mismanaged, poorly organized, a collection of political ideologies across the spectrum from the center-right approach of Bernard Landry and Jacques Parizeau to the socialist leftist views of Pauline Marois. Of course this reflected their governing style as the PQ's last government had three(3!!!) ministers of health. The point being is that this what we would call more of a coalition than a party. Everyone was assembled based on article 1 of the PQ platform, to achieve Quebec Independance. (On a side note, is that even the PQ is divided on the issue of separation, some favour an economic and political partnership with English Canada we could easily call open federalism, while others favour outright Independance.)
The Quebec Liberal Party is like WWE. A tight ship with clear objectives, namely good governance. Claude Ryan, (Vince McMahon Sr.) and Robert Bourassa (Vince Jr)are two people associated with this party. Although 'Liberal,' it is actually more center-right especially under the leadership of Jean Charest. Staunchly federalist yet nationalist at the same time, and trying to attract foreign investment for the province.
The Action Democratique represents WCW. Although in reality the ADQ sprung out of the Quebec Liberal youth wing, in 1995 it sided with the 'Yes' option. Mario Dumont (Eric Bischoff) represented a right wing approach to the Quebec question. He favours big business and Harper-style social conservatism. Mr Dumont furthers his own schizophrenia by labeling his party 'autonomous' in regards to the Quebec question. The last provincial election saw the ADQ come in as the official opposition in a minority liberal government.
Okay,....now that I've prefessed that long piece of nonsense, (thereby cementing my readers' aforementioned conclusion that 'yes',..I do have ADD...)I can get to the meat of this week. To start, the speaker of the House resigned (Michel Bissonet). It is customary that a speaker be chosen, usually from the sitting government to replace him. The PQ got together with the ADQ to support Francois Gendron without the government's consent. (Remember this is a minority government...) To retaliate, the Liberals raid two ADQ members, Pierre Michel Auger and Andre Riedl. What 's next stay tuned!...
To conclude, if you think politics are boring just imagine Jim Ross and Jerry 'the King' Lawler on commentary! It's much more interesting than you think!!!
(oh yeah,..Lucian Bouchard is akin to Jeff Jarrett, an opportunist willing to jump ship whenever he can!!!...)
See ya.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)