The Addiction of Facebook...

I am just as guilty as the next person of spending too much time on Facebook. HOWEVER - I have a bit of a suggestion for several of my "friends." Now, take this as it's intended - as a bit of advice, and as we all know, advice is free and worth exactly that much. So no yelling at me if you don't like my comments.

Since the redesign of Facebook's home pages a month or two ago - which for the record - is a HORRIBLE design - FB now has the added annoyance of posting every little thing that every single person on your friend's list does. And to be honest, I couldn't care less. There is nothing more irritating than waking up, going to check the ol' FB for new developments, funny status updates and whatever other insanely inane commentary my friends have left for me; and finding that some jackass who I haven't spoken more than two words to since grade school has done about 20 of these so-called "Tests" and the results are posted one after another for an entire page, blotting out anyone else's comments or photos... Yes, you know who you are.

So kids, let's get this straight through - just because someone sends you a test, challenge, or other irritating application - DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO DO IT!!! There is no Facebook Etiquette that says it's rude. The offending sender will probably never even notice or care that you have or have not done this stupid test and added the annoying application to your updates. And in the meantime you have saved us all from the constant bombardment of these things - because we don't care which Hobbit you are, the five places where you have lived (if we know you, chances are we already know this), or what hot celebrity some drunk asshole at a bar once told you you looked like.

And if you do have time to do 20 to 30 of these things per day - I have one more suggestion - get a hobby that involves the possibility of going out in the daytime, interacting with other people, and has no computer based activity. Trust me, it'll be good for you. Promise.

Now, I'm one of those people who updates my status more often that I should. I accept this. But generally my updates are silly, ridiculous and cryptic. Often intended as secret messages to people on my friends list - just to see if they're paying attention. I find them funny. And generally the people who they are intended towards do as well. But we don't overuse, overabuse or send thousands of tests to people because we would rather have a cyber-life than a real one.

There's a whole world out there people. It's not on Facebook. Stop fantasizing about which Star Wars character you are and go see it.




P.S. And yes, I do realize the irony of ranting about your fantasy cyber-life when I have taken my screen name from my favourite comic book character. But at least I realize it.

A little bit about Easter

Once again, Zombie Jesus Day is upon us. I mean, really, what is Easter but the celebration of a man returning as the walking dead - which according to everything I've heard of, is the definition of a zombie. So by that definition, Jesus became a zombie on Easter. Well, actually, he became a zombie at some point just after the spring equinox and before the summer solstice. But because they went and mushed all the old pagan holidays together with the Christian holidays in order that the pagans might be more easily converted (oh those sneaky Christians!!!) to their way of thinking, we really have no idea when this supposedly happened for real. Sometime in the spring. It's symbolic - Spring is a season of awakening and rebirth - can I get a "OH WOW THAT'S WHAT THEY MEANT?!?!?!" Or just a regular old "DUH" would suffice.

And did you know that historically speaking that by looking at star formations in the sky around the geographical area known as Bethlehem at the time and taking those into accounts with the stories that describe the stars during his birth - it's most likely more accurate that this man - whomever he really was - was a Virgo? For those of you not astrologically inclined - that's in September. Don't even get me started on why those pesky missionaries put his birthday in December near the winter solstice... that's a whole other discussion for another day...

One more little bit that someone in the church f'ed up along the way... (oh, those silly Christians) they got his name wrong too... Jesus is a Anglo bastardization of the old Hebrew name Yehoshua - which is actually just plain old Joshua. Unfortunately, "Josh Christ" just doesn't have the same Old Testament ring to it. (But it would make a really rad band name.)

So let's ignore ALL the historic inaccuracies for the moment. Let's take that huge leap of faith that Rome and all the little followers and spin-offs want us to take and just enjoy the day.

After all, it's such a lovely tradition to bite the heads off of chocolate and candy versions of adorable little woodland creatures - all in remembrance of the zombie revivification of a man who was the son of a woman who for all intensive purposes was raped while under some sort of sedative, and then if that weren't bad enough, the poor guy gets sent on a suicide mission and the world doesn't even have the decency to remember his name correctly.

I, for one, will bite the head off of a marshmallow peep in your honor, Josh.

The carnival is coming...

Not sure when, not sure how much of it, but I've just been informed that several of my prints are going to be featured at my local arthouse coffee shop. So hopefully some of you can come down and have a look... This is just one of the prints that will be featured. It's from the "Carnival" series I did last month. Something entirely random that turned into the inspiration to shoot an entire project. Inspiration comes in the funniest times and places. I got this one when I was out on my daily bike ride and there was a street carnival being set up just down the road from my apartment. There were a number of cool old dilapidated rides and the marine layer was thick that morning, giving the entire scene a very desolate and rather eerie "zombie apocalypse" sort of feeling. There were no people around. The street was blocked off and it felt very end of the world. I hope I got that across in the series as I processed. I will update when the show is going to be put up. Or if there will be a reception. (I doubt it, but who knows.)

And now, I shall celebrate with some yummy Thai take-a-ways for dinner.

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What Do We Do Now...

This afternoon I was taken to a lunch with a friend - being hosted by another friend of hers as a meeting and greeting and networking sort of gathering. I knew not one person there other than my good friend who had invited me along. Over the course of about 10 courses of amazingly tasty Korean food (at a ridiculously low per-person price I might add), and several hours, I was charmed by each and every one of these people. I forget, in my insular little world, sometimes that people like this exist.

In my adopted city, all too often I find that people here are very singularly minded. One thing. "The Industry" and that's all. Their lives revolve around the industry, they work in the industry and they socialize in the industry. And through this friend who is, by all accounts, part of that industry and without which I never would have met her - I have now met a group of friends who have more going on in their worlds and heads than most of my colleagues.

At one point the conversation turned to the current state of the world - economic, social, military and other current situations and influences - and as I was explaining that my current work situation is not only less than positive and all less than paying what I need to survive on a weekly basis, it came across to me that in this mess - there are like-minded people who have like myself become energized by the feeling of not that "we, as a global community, can make things better" but rather that "we, as a global community, MUST make things better." I personally have been galvanized into working harder on my personal projects than my paid working ones in the hopes that I can turn my passions into a lucrative business.

It got me to thinking about my father and his generation. When my father grew up there were two paths to take. That was it. You were in one of two groups - you went to college or you didn't go to college. Once you made this choice, those who went to college, picked a major, graduated, got a job, got married and lived on til you retired OR you didn't go to college but then got a job in the service industry of some sort and followed pretty much the same path, with a somewhat lower pay rate, but essentially your life path was picked out for you. My father's worst day I think was when the day that I dropped out of college because it wasn't the right place for me. He has never understood that.

Now, however, you can choose. College doesn't guarantee you anything. Conversely, it doesn't prevent you from anything either. I have a close friend who though he has never attended college has become a designing engineer for a defense contractor through a 20 year career of hard work and self-motivation. He is 38. His house will be paid off before he's 50. I have also heard stories of corporate CEO's who refused to grow with the company and technology, got laid off and are currently delivering pizzas.

Things are all over the place. Money is tight. The economy blows chunks. There is no such thing as security or retirement any longer. But - we have a president who is human enough - and I do mean by that fallible - to make an off-handed joke about the Special Olympics on national television. (You know what, President Obama - just about everyone I know makes the occasional retard joke. No, it's not politically correct, but it's okay. We'll forgive you.) It's this bit of humanity gives me hope that he really gets what we're all going through - in a way that all the recently deposed rich old white guys never could.

I suppose what I'm getting at, is that for the time being nothing is certain. We all have no idea what's going to happen next. But we have to do something. Not to be all platitude spewing and annoying, but this is my advice... who cares what careers make more money. Right now, none of them do. And there is no such thing any longer as job security (except maybe for cops, cause let's face it, some people just like to break the rules). So screw it - just figure out what makes you happy and find a way to make a career doing it. If everyone did what made them happy, then what we would end up with is a well-adjusted, diverse and talented, happy bunch of people - and perhaps less rich old white guys just out to steal all the money.

St Patricks Day

In the immortal words of some drunk ass somewhere in the middle of the US - Erin Go Braugh! What does that mean? Something about Erin's bra, I'm sure. Dumbass - it's Éirinn go brách. Whatever. It's St Patrick's Day. The day when everyone is a little Irish and for some reason everything turns green. And has puke on it.

Celebrating a Saint used to be a solemn occasion, when people would go to church, have a prayer or two, and say thank you to whichever saint they were celebrating for whatever it was he or she did. St Patrick's is different. Perhaps its because the Irish are pissed that one of the Patron Saints of Ireland isn't actually Irish. He was Welsh. Oh yeah, and the part about how he was kidnapped and forced into slavery by the Irish. Gotta love us, don't ya?

Somehow through some strange twist of fate (and let's say it folks - it had NOTHING TO DO WITH SNAKES!!!!) he became a patron saint of this tiny little island.

But for some reason, and perhaps its just the genetic makeup of the Irish people (of which I count myself proudly) instead of having a solemn thankful day, we make sure to ruin the day with massive amounts of drink, puke and bar fights. GO IRISH!

And oh yeah, I'm staying home.