Hungry?

Jen and I were looking into donating our leftover food from our moving extravaganza when I discovered the Daily Bread Food Bank website. I was amazed by the number of people who access food banks in Toronto on a monthly basis. Check out their website at:

http://www.dailybread.ca/

I also came across some statistics regarding people with disabilities in Ontario and their usage of food banks. Aside from being a writer, a drinker and an all-around asshole, I work with people who have intellectual disabilities and I know that they experience poverty more than the average person does. Click here to read what I read.


For the readers out there who are not from Ontario or Toronto, I recommend you do a quick search to see what food bank services are offered in your area. You might be surprised to see who is going hungry in your city tonight.

Almost 300

As my web log creeps towards 300 hits, I would like to point out a few things about this site:

E-mail: If you want to e-mail my writing to a friend, just click on the small envelope icon beneath each post.

Comments: Feel free to post your comments by clicking on ‘comments’ beneath each post – especially if you disagree with what I have to say. I love a challenge.

Places of Interest: These are links to web sites that I find interesting. I do not put these up because they are my friends’ sites; rather I put them up because my friends are interesting.

Quote(s) of the Moment: These are quotes that I feel capture the spirit of my writings and rants. I will change the quotes randomly, so check them often!

Mission: Many web logs rely on an ongoing theme or topic (i.e. hockey), or else they are public diaries of the author’s life. While both concepts are fine, I want my log to be more unpredictable. Rank is a place where readers will never know what to expect next. Through such variety, I hope to keep things entertaining, intriguing, and as universal as possible.

Content: Since Carie from California replied to my last post, I no longer feel delusional when I address an audience outside of my circle of friends. However, since I live in Toronto a lot of my rants and personal stories pertain to this city. I hope that these are not alienating and again, my priorities are to keep things entertaining and universal.

Editing: When my posts are fresh I will most likely edit them for content, readability and spelling. I find it easier to post and then read over in order to discover mistakes. Therefore you may come here to find a post has been changed slightly. I do not edit older posts and I stand by everything that I write, but I also want my thoughts to make sense and to be presented in the best way that I see fit. If you find a mistake or are confused by a changed post, let me know. Please remember that this is, aside from any guest-posting, a one person show and it is easy for me to make mistakes.

Guest Writers: I welcome others to post on my web log, provided they e-mail me first. I will not let everyone post, but if I think you have something to say that is fun or interesting I will let you have a forum here. Of course, everyone is welcome to post their comments too.

Thanks for coming everyone!

What Mike Did Vol. 2

When I said that moving sucks I thought I understood what 'sucked' means. During this past week-end however, moving sucked in fantasticly new ways. If Jen and I did not have good friends to help us, we would have been screwed. We simply had way too much stuff.

I have never been a part of a move that has flourished so many injuries. The light end of the pain spectrum saw me throw my back out lifting an easy chair up a rickety, metal staircase. "Truck Drivin' Son of a Bitch" Buchan also suffered many truck-drivin' related emotional traumas. On the darker end, Tomb was a bloody mess after ripping his finger open on our T.V. stand. Worst of all was Lucky Lauder, who unluckily suffered a slight fracture when she fell down a flight of stairs (the horror figurines she was carrying will be okay, but Ms. Lauder could be on crutches for a while). We were all troopers though and still managed to drink several beers on the patio until the sun went down.

I must extend some sincere gratitude towards the brave 6 whose sweat and blood ensured that Jen and I could have a new home (and thank you to my new neighbours who figured out that the gift of booze would not go wasted in this apartment). Your efforts were not in vein - we are definitely going to be happy here.

T.V. Party

The new television season is here and although I have been unable to get into many new shows because of the move, I still have a few thoughts.

Watch For:

Lost (Season 2) : It's trendy but good. Check out season one before getting into it. There was an episode near the end of Season 1 that recaps most of the series, so if you don't have much spare time then rent this episode. I hope they can live up to their season finale

Smallville (Season 5) : A dirty secret. It's not even a great show, but I'm a sucker for all super heroperhero related. Comic geeks will be pleased to hear that this season is rumoured to feature both Brainiac (played by James Marsters) and Aquaman.

Survivor: Guatemala: Looks promising if you are into this sort of thing. I'm on board with hating most reality T.V., but Survivor had me hooked since the very first episode and I just can't shake the addiction. For the record, anyone out there who hates the show and feels the need to tell fans how much it sucks, give it a rest. You just aren't being edgy or unique or making a difference in anybody's opinion of the show.


Disappointments:

My Name is Earl : Jason Lee deserves better than this. I don't know why, he just does.

The War At Home : I don't know why I used to expect good things from Michael Rapaport (notice I said 'used to'), though I suspect True Romance had an impact on my delusions.


R.I.P.:

Dead Like Me: Cancelled after two seasons, this wasn't a great show but it was still damn funny. There are not many T.V. shows that make me laugh these days, but this was one of them.

Carnivale: Also cancelled after two seasons. I can't comment on Season 2, but Season 1 was fantastic. Be warned, apparently the series ends off with a cliff hanger and there are no plans for future projects surrounding the Carnivale universe.

Moving Sucks

Many thanks to the visitors who have been here over the last while. I'm in the middle of moving right now - lots of fun!!! Moving is a great way to diminish your creativity. Fear not loyal readers, I will continue to post. For now help yourself to some old, but still fun, links . . .

http://www.frashii.com/Weeee.swf

http://www.hell.com

I Wrote Once In An Old Poem Book

I wrote once in an old poem book:

Someday I hope to wake up from this horrible dream – wake up to find I am 9 years old, and my anxieties will melt away with my favourite breakfast or the thought that Christmas is coming . . .

Of course, over the years, I have learned that if childhood is nothing more than distractions from anxieties, in a way I am still 9 years old. I have also learned that I am better off sticking to this ‘horrible dream’ and enjoying the fact that I am at least still dreaming. And I learned about Wisers, the full flavored whiskey.

When Is A Door Not A Door?

I really hate it when stores with two distinctly separate doors keep one of the doors locked. I think they enjoy watching their customers' awkward jerking motions as they pull hard on an immobile door. I also think they enjoy watching two customers - one exiting and one entering - squeezing through one doorway. Sometimes the locked door has an 'out of order' sign on it. I would believe the door was broken if it was an electronically powered door. Otherwise, a door is typically not a complicated device. There's a handle, some hinges and a lock. Since the lock is apparently working just fine, the 'out of order' must be referring to either the hinges or the handle. I understand retail and food services do not pay very well, but you would think they would have at least one employee who is smart enough to understand the intricacies of hinges and handles. Bottom line: the door will never be fixed. The store owners simply love watching our daily routine of coffee spillage and swears as we exhibit inane dance moves through the only available doorway at the same time as some morning breath bastard who couldn't wait 2 seconds for us to go first. Assholes.

Untitled

In fields of grey wet winter birth,
With cracking trees of bone and earth,
I see you walking with me . . .
Holding hands and whispering.
And as the sky grows dark,
I turn and kiss you on your cheek,
Tasting that lonely tear.

Thanks etc.

Many thanks to Lucky Lauder for her guest post. I hope to have more people do the same as time goes on.

What's new with me? I'm actually really damn busy dealing with family illness, deadlines, my day job and trying to get some freelance writing on the side. But the blog will go on!

With A Girl...

Sinday of a long weekend
at a party
with a girl
well girls, what do I do...
I pick up my controller and rock the vid games like a mo-fo
well mo-fo's
me and my guys and my girls and my games.
Nothin' change.s.

Lucky,

Lauder

Jake's Post

When I was the cat I used to be, I had spirit. I was full of life. I climbed trees with ease, and tore the fields apart – tore them up with instinct galore. I lived with furious grace. I was free.

Of course, that was when I was the cat I used to be.

Now, with my life of comforts and treats, I cry. You might think it is a need for love, or pity, or just a life of some pathetic me. Really, when I am crying, it is for the cat I used to be.

Make no mistake. Lying cold on the side of some forgotten road, I almost died. My sisters took me in. They kept me safe while I lay in the grass, missing my back legs. I was cold. I was helpless. I was angry. I was not me. Remember this. I cry for the cat I used to be.

My sisters are now all gone. One is dead from being saved. The others have gone to a home unknown. I keep on keeping on. I am legless, with my spirit bruised. Yet, I can cope. So please do not blame me when I cry. My cries are not for you. They are not for me. When I cry, it is for the cat I used to be.

Hey Mutha' Fucka' Get Paid

I saw Billy Idol at the Amphitheatre on Tuesday night (we showed up late and missed Bif Naked’s set). Apparently, I wasn’t going to write about the evening without some convincing. Cha Right! Billy was really good - especially for a guy who's turning 50 in November. He still possesses a lot of passion for his music and it showed. I'm not a huge Billy Idol fan but I can respect a great performance. If you are a fan and haven't seen him live, you really need to make sure and catch him next time he's around.

While Billy was a great experience, the Amphitheatre was also quite brilliant . . . quite brilliant at sucking. $10.50 per beer and over-priced tickets are tough to take when you’re sitting in the rain watching most of the show on a T.V. screen. I think I’m finished with large venues. For less money I could shove doll-sized instruments into the arms of my old G.I. Joes, turn on my stereo and flick the lights on and off. Give me a venue like the Horseshoe over the ACC or Amphitheatre any day. Maybe I’m just cheap, but there’s something nice about going to a small place that won’t squeeze every last cent out of you. There’s also something nice about paying to see a band and actually getting to see the band.

A Depressing Link

Check this link out. Don't waste your time with the rest of the site though.

http://swz.salary.com/salarytimer/layoutscripts/stml_start.asp