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People I don’t have time for

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Champagne socialists as a subsection of socialists in general. Environmentalists who say no to the oil sands but yes to their brand new Landrover (to take them to the cottage in Muskoka). Environmentalists who believe they are morally superior precisely because they bike everywhere and haven’t used a plastic bag since the early 80s. “Christians” who don’t believe in Christ and write books about it…

Apparently once I get started there’s a whole list of people I don’t have time for. (I should probably get to my point before I stop having time for myself for all the whinging I’m doing.)

Yet another category would be those who claim to want to protest something (in this case, the sexist and patriarchal institution of marriage) but then get married. But then keep on complaining nonetheless.

Read all about this wannabe feminist social activist, lacking in character, chutzpah and anything resembling conviction, here.

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Andrea worries about the state of her soul: I have time for all people. It’s some views I have little-to-no time for. (Apparently I posted in haste. But I’m always posting in haste, so I guess you can’t win ’em all.)

Light the barricades? My bus was late

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Terrible customer service. It’s everywhere. With the phone company I railed about switching providers. With the car rental company, I went on about planes and trains and other car rental companies.

But yesterday, when the bus driver started harassing us in both official languages (thank you, merci) about moving back and packing more people on the bus or he wouldn’t move and then proceeded to sit there at the stop, I realized, all I can do is joke with my neighbour about how perhaps I should sit on her lap, and hope for the best. A complaint would likely result in the prompt removal of the stop by my house. 

Today I biked in to work. (Take that!)

But why do good Canadians accept terrible service and terrible things in general, just like that? Wait two years for a doctor’s appointment? No problem. Have my tax dollars fund abortions? Guess that’s the way it has to be. A gay pride celebration instead of Canada Day in my hometown? Oh well. An exceptionally long bus strike in the depths of winter, followed up by mediocre service thereafter? Oh well again.

I’m really not sure what I should do–but lighting barricades while singing “will you join in my crusade?” from Les Misérables jumps to mind.

(I’ve always figured if I’m going to lose all social standing it should be because I went out with a bang, not a whimper.)

These meandering, deep thoughts were sponsored by OC Transpo.

This post may contain offensive language

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In late months I have been known as the mother of a newborn but let’s not forget that I am equally invested as the mother of a teenager (13) and a preteen (12). And with teenagers came the highjacking of radio waves and other music-playing implements i.e. my iPod.

When the kids’ music started to appear on my iPod I saw the additions to my playlists as a window into my children’s mind.  If I tell you that my daughter listens to Taylor Swift and Kelly Clarkson and that my son listens to a heteroclite mix of Barry Manilow, The Beatles, Survivor and the Arrogant Worms mixed in with full-length episodes of Mythbusters, you can get a decent outline of their personalities. At first I enjoyed listening to Taylor Swift and remembering why Thank God! I’m no longer the girl from White Horse and Teardrops on my guitar. And I have to admit that when my kids nicknamed their dark-eyed baby sister “Black-eyed pea” I found it quite endearing. Unfortunately, things never stay manageable for long and soon enough, my children had also taken over – in addition to my iPod — the car radio, my laptop and my iTunes card.

Parents, if you never listen to whatever local radio station kids listen to in your area, you must get a reality check. At first, I thought my ears were playing tricks on me, or maybe I didn’t quite get today’s slang: “Wait a minute here! Did Lady Gaga just say ‘Don’t think too much just bust that stick, I wanna take a ride on your disco stick’?? She did? Oh. My. Goodness.”

Thankfully, my children were no more eager to listen to Lady Gaga’s ravings about – ahem – disco sticks in the company of their mother than I was. They quickly learned to change the channel within the first two beats of any song with a less-than-family-rated content. That’s until they sorta’ realized that if mom didn’t get the x-rated content in a song, then maybe it would be okay to keep quiet about it and leave the radio on, if you know what I mean. And that’s why we have been listening to Britney Spears’ latest offering for the last two months.

Parents, what is wrong with Britney’s latest ditty I ask you? Check out the lyrics and tell me if you figured it out on your own or if you needed the help of a savvy teenager. You are not allowed to google “what’s wrong with Britney Spears’ lyrics” (Caveat: this may not work if you a have a home schooled or private religious schooled child who has never been exposed to profanity. I envy you by the way.)

My question for today: I have a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old who love to sing that song. They don’t know what they are singing. Should I tell them and ask them to stop singing, thus highlighting profanity they didn’t know about; not tell them the profanity part but ask them to stop singing – which may amount to asking you not to think about a pink elephant — or should I ignore it altogether and wait for the next catchy top 20 hit, knowing that Britney’s song, like all the other, will soon fade into oblivion?

Where’s the work-around?

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Oh dear. This is very inconvenient information for your average embryonic stem cell researcher:

Modern human embryology and developmental biology have shown that fertilization produces a new and distinct organism: a living individual of the human species in the embryonic stage of his or her development.

Not great information for abortion rights activists, either. Or those doctors working feverishly to ensure early chemical abortions become more routine.

Indeed, and let’s debate the beginning bit, too

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An editorial in today’s Ottawa Citizen says it’s a good idea to debate assisted suicide:

The deaths of a prominent British conductor and his terminally ill wife after drinking a fatal draught in a Swiss clinic this month have sparked an international debate about assisted suicide. Now, given a proposal by Quebec physicians, that debate is set to explode in Canada. And that is a good thing — no matter what your view on euthanasia.

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The double suicide has led to a debate in Britain and elsewhere about the dangers of euthanasia, including that, by making it easier to end a life, those who feel they are a burden on others or society may feel pressure to do so. A debate to clarify how Canadians view the issue should be welcomed.

Totally. I’m game. Count me in. And while we’re all assembled, debating how Canadians view “end of life” issues, maybe we could squeeze in a session or two about how Canadians view “beginning of life” issues, too?

The things we take for granted

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It has nothing to do with abortion, but that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting. Robert Fulford writes about a particular kind of Canadian bigotry, one I encounter quite often myself. (I’m not a U.S. citizen; I’m just extremely pro-America.)

One day, Brian made a mistake at work, not a big mistake but a mistake. An onlooking colleague turned to another colleague and remarked that Brian was a “typical dumb-ass American.” Another colleague asked him, “Is that the way you do it where you come from?”

No, it’s not that big a deal. But if the co-workers had said this to someone from, say, Saudi Arabia or China, how would we react?

“C” is for carrot??

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[youtube:”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhUFxaauNTE”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhUFxaauNTE]

How did I miss this? Cookie Monster apparently eats veggies now. I am sad.

Seriously, small children (the ones who watch Sesame Street) don’t control what they eat, ever. Damn straight they aren’t able to “understand persuasive intent,” as the article says. That’s why they have parents–to make them eat their veggies.

Don’t blame Cookie Monster for child obesity, I say. He is but a small, blue monster with a penchant for good cookies. Not his fault.

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Tanya identifies yet another instance where children are expected to be more mature than their parents.

OK, that’s impressive

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It’s just a fetus, but it remembers:

The Washington Times reports on a study that indicates fetuses have memories:

They weigh less than 3 pounds, usually, and are perhaps 15 inches long. But they can remember.

The unborn have memories, according to medical researchers who used sound and vibration stimulation, combined with sonography, to reveal that the human fetus displays short-term memory from at least 30 weeks gestation – or about two months before they are born.

“In addition, results indicated that 34-week-old fetuses are able to store information and retrieve it four weeks later,” said the research, which was released Wednesday.

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Véronique adds: “In addition, results indicated that 34-week-old fetuses are able to store information and retrieve it four weeks later”

Wow! That’s like, 3 weeks, 6 days and 23-and-a-half hours later than I can! On a good day!

So, who do we complain to if it’s, you know, not that great?

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What do they teach them in school in Britain? This:

NHS guidance is advising school pupils that they have a “right” to an enjoyable sex life and that regular sex can be good for their cardiovascular health.

The advice appears in leaflets circulated to parents, teachers and youth workers and is meant to update sex education by telling students about the benefits of enjoyable sex…

The leaflet carries the slogan “an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away”.

Sorry, I can’t find the strength to criticize. I’m too busy laughing.

[h/t Paul Tuns]

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Andrea is laughing: “Good for cardiovascular health”? What happened to team sports and gym memberships? Or is that too old-school. (I assume they also see sleepless nights with a crying baby and chasing after a two-year-old as engendering fitness stamina.)

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