Moroccan Lantern

on The Book I Am Reading

Good day. I thought I would give a little update as I have been getting comments from certain people enquiring to when I will post another witty entry. Well, like good wine, these rants of mine take time to get sweet as they fester in my head. Also, good wine requires good grapes, hand picked and juicy from the finest vine. Well the grapes are here and I am crushing them out.

  I have picked up a book by Barack Obama titled "The Audacity of Hope." You may have seen it at your favorite corporate bookstore. Well, I have gotten through the first chapter and I am already pleasantly impressed. He calls for cooperation between the two parties in the U.S. Government. I believe Canada could learn a thing or two about cooperation. Is it not sad that in this "peacekeeping" country the "left" and "right" sides of our parliament in Ottawa are two and a half sword lengths apart? Following the recent "coup" it the Canadian government I got to thinking how foolish our governing system is. How is anything ever supposed to get done if two nearly equal enemies constantly shut each other down? Obama states that sometime in the past (1960s), the governing system went from a "balancing act" to an "either for or against." Instead of coming to an agreement with the other party, everything is done to shut down the opposition without even thinking of the nation. 

In high school, I played an active role in representing a country in a mock United Nations caucus. I was impressed by the order and efficiency at which resolutions were agreed upon. In a UN debate, each representative must speak in turn and presents his/her values, views, and opinions clearly and precisely. There is no banging on tables, acting like animals. When a bill is to be reviewed, it is presented before the entire committee, there is a question period, and each individual country votes (yes, that's democracy). Not everyone agrees, and the bill can be amended in order to gain the support of the majority of voters.

Wouldn't it be nice if our government could make mature decisions like that? 

on Dreams About Political Figures

It was not so long ago that I had a dream that I was waterskiing around the streets of Venice, when all of a sudden I saw Leon Trotsky. What was he doing looking so good? Anyway, we got into an argument over what was better between Capitalism and Communism. I must have been winning because he pulled a knife and tried to stab me. Typical communist. I calmed him down and we managed to reach an agreement that perhaps a mixture of the two is the best way.

More Fernie Fotos

Yay for Z in this shot....
And this ones by me!

on Why Art Students Love Communism

I apologize in advance to all my artistic friends. I have many of them, I appreciate their talents and enjoy their quirks. However, this essay is not directed at you, but rather the poor misguided college students who love to believe that communism is a) a good idea, and/or b) the rebellious thing to do. Both beliefs are correct (to a degree).

Communism is a wonderful idea. Everyone works towards a common good and every one is equal. Everyone looks out for each other, it's great!! Ironically, the drive behind the reason art students love it so much is the very reason why communism itself cannot and will not ever work. This driving force is greed, a trait inherent to all human beings. In the communist state, artists would be equal with doctors, scientists and toothpaste cap screwer-on-ers. (That is if the reigning government cared about the arts.) I venture to say that if the arts was a lucrative industry, the members of that demographic would quickly embrace capitalism as the ideal ideology.  However, the supply of art is plentiful in relation to the demand, driving artists to beg the government of resources. Don't get me wrong, I believe the arts play an enormous part in our mosaic of culture here in Canada. It is the attitude that communism will solve all the problems that I find selfish, greedy, and ignorant.

If you want to be a rebel in society, be a communist. After all, one of the fundamentals of the communist ideology is that a violent overthrow of the ruling class (bourgeoisie, if you will,) is necessary to achieve your goals. What is Amnesty International going to say about that?  With that said, if you really want to be a rebel in art school, be a capitalist. Throw away your Che Guevara shirt and grab a suit and tie. Take pride in constructing a superior product and market it effectively.

If you are an art student, by now you are getting quite perturbed at this ignorant capitalist who lumps the communist art students with the socialist art students. This is not true. And I hope you haven't fooled yourself into thinking the two philosophies are the same. (Socialism allows for a market economy and only works in Sweden.)  But if you are a socialist, it is for greed that you have made that choice. I choose to be a capitalist out of greed. I had the opportunity to pursue a career in the arts, yet, for greed I chose the pathway to riches, and left art as a hobby. 

 So, art students love communism because they are greedy. Just like everyone else. 

Penguin Style

This visual aid should help one understand the previous statements... Props to Q for the shots.

on Performing Snow Stunts

This is the appropriate way to dive into the snow. There are many ways that are acceptable by DIS Standards, however, the first, and most common is the "Superperson"(let's be politically correct here) style, in which participators stretch both arms far in front. 

Another style, known as "the Penguin"  involves boldness beyond comprehension as the daring stuntperson dives headfirst into the snow, with the arms rigid at their sides. Since there is no animal more comical than a penguin, your friends will laugh and pat you on the back and tell you how awesome you are.

This photograph was taken near Fernie, BC sometime in the early days of 2009.

on Pretentious Bus Reading

Pretentious Bus Reading, hereby known as PBR, is a great way to force your supremacy upon others. Recently I finished reading Sun Tzu's Art of War on my daily commute to and from the wonderful, the magnificent Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Even the business students gave me a knowing nod as they gave their seat up for me. 

PBR books must fall within certain parameters to qualify as appropriate material.

1. The title must be prominently displayed on the front cover, along with the highly intellectual author's name. (eg. The Invisible Hand, Adam Smith) This is obviously to display how intellectual you are. 

2. The size of the book should be small enough to slip into your overcoat or laptop bag (right next to the latest copy of the Walrus) yet large enough to flash the important title about. 

Other things must be considered. The book must be held at an angle which facilitates curious passengers to notice the stimulating material you are perusing, yet not so high as to give the appearance of "nerdiness." It may be necessary to glance at the commoners to reconfirm that you are indeed overwhelming them with your awesomeness. 

As for me I already have several PBR's lined up for the next week, including The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli.