Money Money Money

$325 - Damn ticket.

$795 - The rent is due.

$67 - Cogeco is collecting.

$250 - Car payments.

$150 - Insurance.

$140 - Car broke.
_____

$Too much god damn money.00

Technology... 2 Choices.

Some great thoughts to reflect upon thanks to the late Carl Sagan.

Dano - Live Concert At Cafe Ole - Recording

1st Set List...

2:50 Music Start

Grasstock Way
The Seagull
Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
The Road Is My Home
Song Of The Guides

Break....

The Connection Conundrum

So a couple of good friends and I got together for some pints, risk, cookies, and all round debauchery, and got into talking... The world claims to be a better place because everyone is so much more connected to people - they can access their friends' News Feeds on Facebook in seconds, they can text their parents across the country, they can send a christmas card out to hundreds of their friends with a click of a button...

But are we really more connected than we were before?

I know, this question has become a cliche - but really, it's only become a cliche cause we've decided it is - we don't want to face any sort of fact that suggests we're doing something wrong. Why? Cause it feels good. It's addictive. It keeps us from one of the scariest things imaginable - our own thoughts.

That is besides the fact though - what I'm trying to demostrate is that it is a moot argument that we're now more connected than ever. I resolve that although we are about to reach out and access a huge quantity of people, we are not in fact directly connected with them anymore.

Texting has turned from what started as short, efficient exchanges of update-type messages into empty meaningless garbage for the most part. People are texting "ummm" and "uhhhhh", and their text conversations span huge amounts of messages, when a simple phone call would have gotten the information across, been much more efficient, and would have an element of much more direct contact with a human being.

Texting is now an inefficient crutch - it's cheap, and that's what phone companies want; We can text on their systems for much cheaper than talking so they'll mark everything up. Now, even after the markup, texting packages look cheap so you buy it.

How many times have you read on a text the following...

"OK be there in an hour"

"Be about 20 mins"

"Just on your street"

"Here"

... Was it really necessary for that person to send me those updates on exactly where they are? I mean, if they're late, yes, but just a simple 'gonna be late' would be fine. I don't want updates on where you are, I just want you to BE THERE.

It's a popular thing to do, but it's jumbled globs of useless information. You can't have a meaningful, connected conversation over texts. Texting allows you access, not connection.

With immediate direct access, there is no more yearning for intimate contact. We're sedated with thousands of tiny, meaningless interactions that plague our mind and veil the true connections; true connections waiting to be made through opportunities presented every minute of every day.

Imagine living in 1890... you've just finished bringing in the last crop of the season. Every year near thanksgiving the family has a big party to celebrate the end of the growing season, and your favourite Uncle Peter generally shows up from Northern Quebec to visit. Peter missed this seasons party - so of course, you're concerned.

But it's true concern. You only see Peter once a year, and maybe get 2 or 3 pieces of mail from him - depending on what makes it through the weather - but regardless, every time there is an interaction with him it's all meaningful, important interactions. You talk about your families, the growing season, plans for the future - never about what colour you painted your toenails, what smells you smell, or how you've got a crush on your teacher.

You're concerned, but you are also patient - after all, it's Uncle Peter - he's coming from a long way away. Maybe he's running a bit late, got hung up some where, or just couldn't make it down. There's no use in fretting the unknown - the house has to be prepared for winter again, and the firewood isn't gonna split itself - if you waste your time trying to track down Ol' Peter, you may never find him, or you may end up finding out that he's on his way, just a little late. How many times do you get the texts saying...

"Where R U?"

"R U still coming?"

"U shud tell me if ur gona b late"

... My philosophy is that I'm gonna be there. If I'm not, the person in question would probably know when they should be worried. I'm a big boy, I do fine on my own - and so should they. They don't need me to coddle them with reassurances that I'm STILL on my way, and I don't need them to tell me I'm late - cause chances are, I know.

I work in a coffee shop, and I work as an adventure guide - and as a people person I thrive on human interaction. I love working the till and meeting new people every day. Meeting 12 new friends on a raft and teaching them the fun in the whitewater is how I keep my head on straight. But when your face is buried in your phone, not only do you look stupid, but you can't share a human interaction. When your mind is concerned about the drama you're missing on facebook, your letting the world slip past your eyes as you stare blindly, not fully taking in the beauty of a word, a person, the trees around you - or whatever it may be. I know it's not that special - getting coffee from that blonde guy at the same coffeeshop you go to every day - but it's more than "OMG I just saw the cutest bus driverr!!!", and it's therapeutic. Talking to people vents. Talking to people inspires emotion.

Texts are cold. Heartless. Empty. You can't get much out of them. But even in the tiniest exchange of a few words whether ordering coffee or not, you subconciously take in so much more, and you'll feel better about it. You'll be better after it.

So why do we do it?

It's quicker. (In some cases.)

It's easier. (Occasionally.)

It passes the time. (Definetly.)

It's sometimes quicker, sometimes easier, and always passes the time. But it's never as efficient, and it's never as meaningful. It's a distraction from the real world... it's like a hook, pulling us away from the humble abode of reality. And we're not fighting too hard.

I'm personally a big fan of this thing called The Real World. I'm a believer in patience, and human beings connecting.

What about you?

Peter McKay, Stephen Harper - Your Severance Is In The Mail.

We're proud of our troops up here in Canada - ambassadors, warriors, mothers, fathers, family...

But when something slides under the radar like Stephen Harper autonomously extending the stay of troops in Afghanistan to 2014, he's smearing mud in the face of our tired soldiers as it is.


Soldiers are tired... families are tired... and the populace is tired. Let's get something straight here boys - if you don't have family in the military, I don't think you have the authority to makes those sole decisions.

Sign up your sons and daughters, and I'm sure it'll be another issue.


This is a haunting snippet of a radio interview with one of the family members of our beloved troops...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4KCBpQ5x_g


-Dantait


Afterthought: Ever wonder how Politician Christmases go? They always just throw money at these issues - I feel like it would be like robots exchanging bigger and bigger boxes, rather than a real, intimate and traditional Christmas...

So it's come to my attention...

... That I haven't yet achieved what I feel I was meant to.

Rock Needs A Revolution.

The Youth Need Something to Stand Behind.




... I just want noone to get hurt.


I know how to do it, and I know now's the time to do it... but, can it be done?


... can I do it?

Thoughts This Past Remembrance Day...

It is my true belief that Remembrance Day was originally meant to be more than a day to remember those fallen in battle... We do our honorable veterans little justice in simply remembering their sacrifice for a day and then moving on "to the next holiday" in our lives, ignoring the deeper meaning and symbolism behind the day.

Sure, you put on a Poppy for a couple weeks prior to the day, and you fall silent at 11 o'clock - much like the guns fell silent oh so long ago, and you wear your red for the troops on Fridays, and you watch History Television's Week of Remembrance Specials, and so on... We all do that; you, me, and many of the veterans themselves. But what most of us are missing in the hurrah of things is hidden even deeper. It's the black beneath the surface of the water...

Let me try and explain... They have said in the past "The Great War was the war to end all wars...", and for a time it looked like it for the most part; Pacts and Treaties and Armistices were made, agreements, restrictions, and laws were passed to restrict wars and to properly punish war crimes. It looked like problems were solved, until problems arose again in the late 1930s, and then the world was back at it - another Global War.

Again, an unprecedented amount of blood was shed as the stakes grew higher - technology was improving, war machines were deadlier and more effective, the race for nuclear supremacy was just beginning, battles were fought over larger fronts and areas; it seemed that already the tragedies of the First Great War had taken a back seat to an Arms Race... Throughout all of this, the main goal of these countries was to be on top - it was well known that whoever was to be victorious at the end of this Second Great War was destined to lead the world into Nuclear, Space Travel, and maybe more... The stakes were high indeed - worth more than the lives of a country's citizens. Again, thousands upon thousands of men and women crossed the seas, took to the skies, fought bloody battles, and ultimately made the great sacrifice. At the end of it all - another set of treaties, pacts, laws, armistices...

It was a short time of peace, for the Korean War followed, and the Vietnam War, The Gulf War, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and so many more...

The war to end all wars... The war to end all wars...

It's a dream, for sure - And you could make a case for naivete at the time... But we must be reminded more than once a year that war is not the answer. No coalition, no government agenda, no arms race, and no sense of superiority gives us the right to go and destroy the lives of other people - and none of these reasons are worth the lives of bright and strong young men and women.

Fighting siblings rarely figure out the right answer when they come to blows - so why do we think that we'll find the answer through battle? Besides, when the battles involve communities, provinces, states, countries, continents - it's no longer coming to blows... it's massacre.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

We're pretty lucky here in Canada because of the sacrifice that our soldiers have made for us - and believe me, we really are. We don't have to be personally reminded every day of the atrocities of war. We see it through an emotionless box mounted on our walls as we lean back in a chesterfield with our families around us... We "know" that we're lucky, but since the majority of us haven't personally felt the pain of war, we're actually quite unaware as to how lucky we really are.

I am grateful for all of the men and women who have served in the forces in the past, and serve now - for they were/are willing to put their life on the line for me and my family, and that means a lot to me. If I ever have the chance to defend their freedom as they defend mine, I would take it in a heartbeat...

But my point remains...

They say "On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month... the guns ceased to fire."

But really... have they?

-Dantait