A country where the government has free lease to spy on you.
A country where disagreeing with the government means you’re a terrorist.
A country where being labelled a terrorist means you aren’t entitled to due process.
A country where you should huddle in your home, afraid to think anything but what is perscribed by the government.
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Damn it people, why can’t you leave Steve Irwin alone? People who are drawing comparisons to Jacko’s dangling baby stunt are way off base. I think that Steve’s son is more in danger strapped into his car seat, driving along a major highway than he is in a croc pen with his dad. Just because you or I wouldn’t do the same thing, doesn’t mean the lad was in any real danger. Steve probably just considers it ‘take your child to work day’ or the equivalent. I don’t recall reading anything when Bindi swims in the croc river with her little water wings. How many people really are in a position to judge how safe the child is or isn’t when in that situation? Maybe someone who’s spent his whole life doing it? Like Steve?
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I went to see Cheaper by the Dozen last night and laughed harder and more honestly than I have in a long long time. I really enjoyed it. I come from a large family (6 kids) and I am very enamoured of large families. Here’s a picture. (From left, rear: Trish, Anna, Michelle, center: Peter, Dad, Mom, Sean, Front: Tom, Kelly Caitlin). I have very strong family ties and values, and they are ones that I want to pass on to my children. Loyalty to family, intelligent patriotism, kindness, faith, compassion, humility, honesty and humour. Things I didn’t get from my family are taking myself too seriously, political correctness and being judgemental (not that I am those things, but those are things that my family is NOT.) What are things that you got from your family (good or bad)?
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For christmas I finally got a PS2 ( i know, I know, “Welcome to the 90’s Mr Banks!”) it’s the first game console I’ve owned since the original nintendo. I wrote an entry a while ago about how I was sick of not being able to just play a game when I wanted to, when my stoopid computer wouldn’t work, and now I don’t have to deal with it… I wonder if this is sliding me down the slope from a geek to a ‘user’ instead. Anyways. In addition to that lovely gift from my wife, my mom also got me a bunch of Neil Gaiman books off my amazon wishlist as a combined Christmas/Birthday gift (Anyone born within a month of christmas knows what I’m talking about here..). So I’ve been enjoying Smoke And Mirrors, The Day I Swapped My Dad For 2 Goldfish and also The Wolves In The Walls. I’ve really enjoyed them all. the art in TWitW is fantastic. More and more I’ve realized how much I like Neil Gaiman as a writer. Smoke and Mirrors has some really impressive short stories. I particularly liked ‘Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar’. I’m working Mon/Tues/Wed this week during my company’s ‘Forced Shutdown’ – I don’t want to take the time off since I’m not going anywhere or doing anything, so I volunteered to be part of the ‘core team’ that came in just in case something came up. In April when our next rugrat pops out I’m planning to take off 3-4 weeks, and I want to take some time to travel back to Canuckland in Jan/Feb for my parents 30th anniversary.
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It’s midafternoon, and I’m lying on the couch, quietly pondering and pleasantly drifting sleepily through the late afternoon rain sounds outside. The TV is quietly playing A Christmas Story as my wife and daughter snooze in turkey-induced slumber. The light is fading outside, the inside is warm and cozy, with the remnants of this morning’s flurry of present openings scattered on the floor and chairs and for at least one day, all is right with my world.
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