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BREAKING NEWS: Reverend Huy Dang's Last Blog Update of 2011!

2011-12-31T23:59:00.002-06:00

As 2011 comes to an end very soon, I would like to wish everyone who reads this blog a Happy New Year!

And since I'm able to talk about my boring life since my last blog update, I will.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day at home watching movies I hadn't been able to watch before. I did briefly step outside for a walk, before coming back home to go to work.

As for today, I did some shopping, had lunch at Joey's and went home to go to work until 11:00 pm. Since that time, I've been watching ET Canada: NYE Live from Niagara Falls.

Well, that officially concludes my last blog update of 2011.

With less than one minute left, I'd like to wish everyone who reads this blog a happy new year and all the best in 2012! And remember: don't get ripped by the riptide!

Thank you for your concerns.

BREAKING NEWS: Reverend Huy Dang Makes First Blog Update in Six Months and Hopes ALL RSS Aggregators Crash Due to Length of Blog Update

2011-12-30T01:35:00.000-06:00

Hello my Internet friends! It has been a very long time since I've last updated this immaculately-coded blog. As such, this may be the longest blog update you ever read from this crazy guy. So if you're ready to waste a whole lot of time reading this blog update, you're going to need a lot of time. This means that Nathan's dad may end up spending months and months reading this blog update, as it is the first blog update in almost six months (or more).

When I last updated this blog, I was about to hit Ottawa, which is Canada's beautiful capital city. However, I am not going to discuss that right away, instead, I am going to discuss current events, the news, and all sorts of weird things that have been bugging me since my last blog update. After that, I'll start talking about my trip to Ottawa, Montréal, and Québec City.

The first thing I would like to talk about is long weekends. Long weekends are great, aren't they? Sure, if he has something to do. For me, personally, I dislike long weekends very much. Why? Well, it's a matter of finding something to do. As you know by now, I like to spend my time with my evil cousins. So when I do, we usually have fun. But more than often, during the weekends, they often leave town to visit my crazy aunt, who lives in Calgary. That fact often leaves me with nothing to do here in Saskatoon. But as it turns out, I'm not really one that feels that way about long weekends. For more information on this, please consult this article.

On NBC on September 23, 2010, the same dayBlockbuster Inc. announced that it would file for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, there was a new show called Outsourced. It was a good show while it lasted, before it was cancelled this past summer. However, I'm glad the show is over for various reasons. For starters, some of the characters, such as Gupta and Charlie, were only hilarious from the start. As the show's first season progressed, the show got more and more annoying. During the last episode of the season, I started to question whether I would continue to watch the show. Now, that decision has effectively been made easier, thanks to NBC. Usually, I like to give a show a few more months of consideration after I feel that the show has "jumped the shark."

As you all know by now, I hope, Blockbuster Canada Co.'s operations ceased to exist as of October 1, 2011. Before you assume that the pathetic Netflix service killed it, I am going to walk through you the timeline of the situation. On September 23, 2010, Blockbuster Inc., the company's former parent,filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Prior to the bankruptcy proceedings, and as far back as April of 2010,Blockbuster Inc. announced new agreements with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. Previously, they had an agreement with Warner Home Video as well. The agreement is essentially kept the shelves at Blockbuster Inc.'s stores filled with new releases. In exchange, the studios were provided with a "first lien" on Blockbuster Canada Co. In the event that the company failed to pay up any cash it owed to these movie studios, these studios would be allowed to extract that cash from Blockbuster Canada Co., in whichever way possible. This was acceptable to the studios, as the company's Canadian operations were stable and profitable. On February 21, 2011, Blockbuster Inc.eventually conceded to the whole Chapter 11 deal, and announced that it would be selling itself at auction. On April 6, 2011, Blockbuster Inc. announced that it DISH Network Corp. wasthe winner in an auction for the assets of Blockbuster Inc. It's important to note that this sale did not include Blockbuster Canada Co. During the bankruptcy proceedings, Blockbuster Inc. had substantially reduced its debt from as high as $1 billion to somewhere below $100 million. I guess whatever was left to pay was owed to the movie studios. This is where it got interesting... all the debt was left to Blockbuster Canada Co. On May 3, 2011, one day afterCanadians elected a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government, Blockbuster Canada Co. was placed into receivership by the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario. Within weeks, the company's court-appointed receiver, Grant Thornton Ltd., announced that it would close as many as 140 stores, while it attempts to sell the company to prospective buyers. The final number was eventually 146. Blockbuster Canada Co. GiftCards were no longer being sold and would no longer be accepted at stores that were closing. As for Blockbuster Rewards customers, their memberships were not going to be renewed. Eventually, statements on Blockbuster Canada Co.'s website told visitors to head towww.grantthornton.ca/blockbuster. As for Blockbuster Inc., its assets were transferred to a new company, called Blockbuster, LLC. When DISH Network Corp. bought the company out of bankruptcy, they were given the choice to either accept or reject contracts that Blockbuster Inc. had signed with other companies. Conveniently, they decided to reject two contracts between Blockbuster Inc. and Blockbuster Canada Co., with one of them being an agreement for Blockbuster Canada Co. to use the BLOCKBUSTER name, logo, or whichever trademark it was entitled to before. As such, Blockbuster LLC decided to send "cease-and-desist" orders to Blockbuster Canada Co., informing them that they no longer wanted Blockbuster Canada Co. to continue using the name, logo and/or trademarks of Blockbuster LLC, which was now owned by DISH Network Corp. On August 31, 2011, Grant Thornton Ltd. announced that despite offers being made, a satisfactory offer that satisfied the movie studios could not be made, or so they claimed. As such, the receiver said that it would obtain a court order to close the remaining 253 Blockbuster Canada Co. stores. Sales began at the stores before they closed, and all stores ceased to exist after September 30, 2011. That's sad, and I am quite upset with the events that unfolded, especially since the stores were still profitable. Interestingly enough, Grant Thornton Ltd.,in its press release, said that New Blockbuster, referring to Blockbuster, LLC, "plans to begin offering Canadian customers exciting new ways to access movies and games before year end." Not explaining itself, I'm going to assume that the "new ways to access movies and games" will be in the form of the recently-announced Blockbuster Movie Pass, which is currently available in the United States, and to DISH Network Corp.'s customers. As forNathan, who said that Blockbuster Canada Co. stores are useless and was happy to hear that they would be closing, this message is geared specifically towards him, and any person who may think like him: Blockbuster Canada Co. employed thousands of people. When a company employs people, it contributes to a lower unemployment rate. A lower unemployment rate means a better economy. A better economy means that it benefits the Conservative Party of Canada. When something benefits the Conservative Party of Canada, it helps them get re-elected with a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government. When Canada has a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government, I am happy. And when I am happy, everyone else shall be happy as well, because I won't be so annoying to them. With Blockbuster Canada Co. now gone, as well as my refusal to rent movies atRogers Plus, I now have limited options when it comes to movie rentals. Occasionally, I will rent movies aDVDPlay kiosk (Blockbuster Express in the United States). Ultimately, however, I am now signed up over at Zip.ca, which isn't as cool as I remember it being. In fact, they've just raised the prices of their monthly plans. The plan I had prior to this month was $24.95, which allowed an unlimited number of DVD shipments each month, while keeping three at a time. Now, that same plan is $29.95?! So, without Blockbuster Canada Co., I am left with few options. Sure, video on demand services, streaming or downloading is apparently where it's at, but I enjoy obtaining copies of physical media. Now, the only thing I wonder is... why did Blockbuster Inc. end the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards back in the day? I enjoyed those events, even if the last time I ever watched that award show was in 2000. The last time I ever rented at a Blockbuster Canada Co. store was on September 7, 2011. To see a copy of the receipt,click here. To see one of the last emails the company sent me,click here. I miss Blockbuster Canada Co. more than I missCompuSmart, which closed all of its stores before being acquired. As for the last 253 stores that closed in September, 53 stores closed on September 25, while the remaining 200 stores closed on September 30, 2011 at 5:00 pm. I find this situation unfair, as Blockbuster's U.S. stores get a second chance at life while killing off profitable Canadian operations. In fact, the company even announced thatit would save approximately 1,500 stores.

This year alone, there were seven general elections for provincial governments across Canada. For the most part (or all), every province that had an election re-elected their governments. In Manitoba, under the leadership ofGreg Selinger,the NDP was re-elected for a fourth consecutive majority government. In that province,Progressive Conservative leaderHugh McFadyen has since announced that'dhe'll resign as that party's leader when a replacement is found. In Prince Edward Island, the Liberal government underRobert Ghiz's leadership was re-elected. In the Northwest Territories, where no provincial political parties exist,Floyd Roland is now the premier. As for Ontario,Dalton McGuinty'sLiberals were re-elected, but with a minority government (I believe they were short one seat from a majority government). The province's Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak, has not resigned. Over in Newfoundland and Labrador, whereDanny Williams has resigned, Kathy Dunderdale led the Progressive Conservatives to electoral victory. Here in Saskatchewan, on November 7, 2011,Brad Wall led theSaskatchewan Party to a second majority government, winning 49 out of a possible 58 seats with approximately 64% of the popular vote, which is quite unprecedented. As for the NDP, they won nine seats out of a possible 58. The party's leader, Dwain Lingenfelter,has since resigned. Speaking of failed elections for the NDP, I encourage you to scope out this video of someone destroying an NDP lawn sign that was located on the lawn of Nathan's parents' lawn. Also, I'm glad thisparticular candidate failed. In the Yukon, Darrell Pasloski, who hasn't led the Yukon Party for a very long time, got his party re-elected. At this point, I would like to congratulate all premiers on being re-elected or being elected for the first time since taking over from previous leaders. However, I am particularly proud of Brad Wall and The Saskatchewan Party.

Earlier this year, FOX had decided to cancel one of my favourite Saturday night shows, America's Most Wanted. The show was eventually picked up by Lifetime. As a result of their decision, I can no longer watch that show. The only time we can see that show in Canada on FOX is when they air those quarterly two-hour specials on FOX. As such, I will miss the show... but at least I have more free time on Saturday nights now, as I don't watch Cops very much.

As you know by now, if you live in Saskatoon, theCity of Saskatoon is taking a big step with theCircle Drive South Project. The Circle Drive South Project will finally complete Circle Drive, which will allow me, as well as other motorists in Saskatoon, to complete a loop of the city without taking alternative routes. The project consists of:

A new six-lane bridge.
Five new interchanges (Idylwyld Drive, Lorne Avenue, Valley Road, 11th Street West and Preston Avenue South).
Ten kilometres of freeway/expressway from Clarence Avenue to Clancy Drive.
Access requirements of surrounding lands.
Three railway grade separations.
Sound attenuation walls.
Pedestrian and cyclist facilities.

This will be the biggest single project in all of Saskatoon's history at a cost of $300 million. Once the project is complete, which is projected to be September 30, 2012, I plan to circle the city... simply because I can. My friend Kojo has expressed interest in coming along, and I would be glad to have him come along. Hopefully, the same goes for Nathan, as well as my evil cousins Ky and Tho. To see the project's current progress so far, head over towww.circledrive.ca. I look forward to this useless endeavour.

Before May 2, 2011, when the Conservative government won a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government, the governing party promised that it would combine all failed legislation during the minority Parliament into one big omnibus bill that would be passed within 100 days of Parliament resuming. The government has so far kept that promise. While I am in favour of most of the bill, I am concerned with one aspect: the minimum prison sentences. Although I'm for minimum prison sentences, the minimum should be a little bit lower. The bill in question is Bill C-10: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum penalties for offences involving firearms) and to make consequential amendment to another Act (if it were up to me, this bill would have a much longer name... one where you'd have to 'abbreviate the abbreviations.'). For starters, the bill does amend the Criminal Code for new offences, such as breaking and entering to steal a firearm or robbery to steal a firearm. The new bill does not impose minimum sentences on those crimes. However, importing or exporting a firearm, prohibited weapon, restricted weapon, prohibited device, prohibited ammunition or component or part for an automatic firearm knowing that it is unauthorized, which currently has a minimum prison sentence of one year, will be raised to a minimum of three years. Alright... maybe I haven't found a flaw yet, but I am somewhat concerned some minimum sentences... but not all. I am still mostly in favour of minimum sentences. However, I still think that the government should do more to punish those who commit crimes against children. But aside from that, I am glad the Right Honourable Stephen Harper is the current Prime Minister of Canada. As such, I agree with thisopinion piece, which says we should somehow rid ourselves of this cumbersome democracy once and for all and finally establish Stephen Harper as the supreme monarch of Canada. I have been attempting to contact this Martin Turczynowicz fellow, but to no avail. I have a feeling him and I could be best friends, if he weren't attending the University of Manitoba.

On September 22, 2011, theRight Honourable David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, paid a visit to Ottawa and addressed Parliament. But more importantly, he praised Canada on a lot of aspects. But something as important is that Mr. Cameron paid tribute to the late Jack Layton, who had died exactly one month earlier after losing his battle with an unknown cancer (he wouldn't reveal it because him and his wife, Olivia Chow, believed that it was inappropriate, as it may dampen anyone's hopes of fighting their type of cancer if it were the same as Mr. Layton's cancer). Admittedly, I never liked Mr. Layton's political views or the New Democratic Party of Canada for that matter. However, as a person, I enjoyed his personality very much, and I did cry when he died on August 22, 2011. It touched me personally, and I'm sure his death has touched the lives of many others. Mr. Layton was considered to be the rudest person during question period, andthat's pretty impressive.

Something I would like to personally talk about is the death of Jamie Hubley, the son of Ottawa city councillor Allan Hubley. Jamie was openly gay and attending A.Y. Jackson Secondary School. He was 15 beforehe killed himself. Living the homosexual lifestyle can be difficult, whether you're open about it or not. As a gay person who hasn't come out of the closet yet, I would imagine that your friends and family are often wondering why you don't seem to be interested in women, and that makes life difficult. You're probably thinking about what relationships, connections or other aspects of your life may be affected. As such, it may be difficult for a homosexual man to reveal that he is indeed homosexual. But, what happens if you reveal that you're gay? I'm not gay myself, but I would assume that coming out of the closet as an adult would be easier than coming out of the closet when you're in... say, high school? I like to believe I have a little insight to this, since a couple of jerks from high school assumed that I was gay in grade 9. In grade 9, Reverend Nathan lived near Mount Royal Collegiate, where we both attended high school. As such, he often went home during the lunch hour, and I often hung out at his home. Eventually, I started ditching two other guys I often hung out at the school. Those two guys shall not be named... except, I will tell you this: one of them was laid off from The Pita Pit in downtown Saskatoon, and the other guy now lives in Fort Qu'Appelle. Anyway, I began hanging out with Nathan on such a regular basis that the two often assumed that we were attending Gay-Straight Alliance meetings. When I attended that school, a new program was launched for those who may be gay, or those who may question their homosexuality, or for any other reason related to their sexuality. Both Reverend Nathan and I vehemently denied the accusations. But more than seven years later, one of us would turn out to be gay, and it wasn't me. Based on my own experiences, even though I'm straight, it takes one brave high school student to openly declare he's gay. But based on my experience, and the seemingly homophobic environment in most (or all) high schools, I probably would have waited until after high school to reveal that I was gay, if I were him. However, the fact that he was openly gay at the age of 15, is downright courageous, and I commend him. Unfortunately, his life didn't work out so well afterwards. For a time, he chronicled his daily life on his blog, previously located at http://catchmeblondy.tumblr.com. From what I've read, so far, Jamie desperately wanted a boyfriend as well. Now, the blog is gone, and so is he. I really don't know where I'm going with this subject, so I'm going to stop here, before I continue to say things that may get me physically hurt. However, the reason that I say it's better to come out after high school, is because of my friend Nathan, who revealed that he is gay as of December, 2010. According to him, "Gays have it made in Canada." So, as you can see,it really does get better, according to people who are already openly gay. My friend Larry and I have added our own personal opinions to a Newsfeedblog entry. Please read that post. As for Nathan, he now considers himself to be bisexual as of this past fall.

Since we're still on the subject of romance and sexual orientation, there is something I'd like to talk about that's similar: dating. Dating is tough, and for the last couple of years, I've been saying that dating is for suckers. So, what happens when you start to have feelings for someone, despite your assertion that dating is for suckers? Well, that was something I began to wonder, when I realized that I may like a girl... who we'll call "Mysterious Woman," since it's not a good idea to reveal names like that on the Internet, where everyone can see. Anyway, I first met Mysterious Woman in myPOLS 204: Governance of Canada class. I had been sitting near her for almost three months before I even started to talk to her. So, at first, nothing came out of the encounter, and I just lived my life as I usually do. The only reason we ever started to talk was after a snowstorm and most students had refused or were too lazy to come to class. So, she said "Wow, this place is empty," and that's when we started to talk. Eventually, our friendship progressed and we became good friends. Eventually, spring came, and so did a federal election that resulted in astrong, stable, national, majority Conservative government. We both agreed that the election results were "epic." But over time, she got to know me and my usual eccentricities, particularly the one where I call everyone who isn't me a "sucker." In this opinion piece, she was able to identify which part was my favourite. As the summer progressed, she worked... at an actual workplace, and I still worked from home. On numerous occasions, I would drop by her workplace to harass her, mainly to call her a "sucker." However, on the day before classes resumed at the University of Saskatchewan this year, I forgot to do something important: call her a sucker at work. As time progressed, my feelings got the best of me. On September 27, 2011, the day of her 21st birthday, I put my nonsensical plan into action. Of course, I had to admit to being a sucker before I could put my plan into action. So, I planned on asking her out on that day in person, but ended up calling her instead, on the evening of September 27, 2011. So, when I called her, I told her that there was something I had wanted to ask her for a while, but had not done so, because I would be in direct contradiction to what I've been saying for the last couple of years. Eventually, I asked her out in a way that would allow me to say her decision on whether she would or would not go out with me would be based on the fact that I drive a metallic grey XV20 generation 2001 Toyota Camry LE. Eventually, we came to an agreement that dating is not the best idea, and we have not gone out since that time. Unfortunately, as of November 25, 2011, we are no longer on speaking terms. So, will Reverend Huy Dang ever find someone to be with? Well... I've dated before... but I hope that the meeting of my next girlfriend, when/if that happens, will be preceded by a chain of hilariously awesome events that will be good enough for a sitcom of some sort. Until that happens, I will be back to my "dating is for suckers" self again. But right now, I'm starting to feel likeTed Mosby from How I Met Your Mother. Despite saying that dating is indeed for suckers, I have been more open to dating in recent months, but not enough to actually to date anyone at the moment.

Not long ago, my friend Peter Poorman, who has historically roamed the mean streets of Saskatoon in a variety of transit buses in style (ranging from a 1995 New Flyer D40LF all the way to a 2011 New Flyer D40LFR, as I'm assuming he only took low floor buses), recently completed the required training in order to eligible for aclass 5 driver's licence in Saskatchewan. It is unclear if he has obtained his class 5 licence yet... but he did recently purchase aToyota Tercel (year unknown, but it can't be newer than 2000). I would like to take this time to congratulate him on the purchase of his first car, but I will always find mybought-used-from-my-mom metallic grey XV20 generation 2001 Toyota Camry LE better than his mysterious Toyota Tercel. The only thing that upsets me is that he has decided to name the car Ginger. If you're going to give your vehicle a nickname, you've got to name it something really, really long... and it must be so long that you need to "abbreviate the abbreviations."

The next thing I would like to talk about is winter. It's not quite winter yet, but snow has existed in Saskatoon since the Remembrance Day weekend (as far as I remember). Winter this year officially begins on December 22, 2011. Now, although it's not quite winter just yet, even though there's snow, there are some pros and cons to winter and the supposedly-terrible weather that it brings (I live in Canada, and I'm used to snow). Sure, there are cons, and we'll start with those. When it comes to the cons of the winter season, there are two things I dislike about the winter, or whenever there is snow: driving and shovelling. Driving is a pain in the butt, especially in Saskatoon when there is snow. Then, there's shovelling. It stinks as I have a huge, butfake driveway to "shovel." It's fake because I park on my lawn. Now, it's time to talk about the pros of winter, or snow in general. Something I always enjoy is hearing virtually everyone around me (on Facebook or strangers, in person) complain about howwinter is upon us. For those people, you live in Canada, and you should accept it. But, what I really enjoy is seeing most (the beautiful ones, anyway) women wearing surprisingly-fashionable (to me) boots that are a little longer than I would expect. I never paid attention to this, until the most recent winner, when one of my friends, who we shall call Nathan, said that women who wear boots, or fuzzy boots (he hates them more than anything, as it seems) are clearly indicating that they are... straight.

Recently, one of my friends, named Chelsea, who now lives in Ottawa, asked me an odd question. That question was "Who do you find more attractive?Michelle Obama orLaureen Harper?" That is a question I refuse to answer. However, I will point out something important when it comes to Chelsea. She now lives in the federal electoral riding or district of Ottawa West-Nepean. The Member of Parliament for that riding is the Honourable John Baird, who is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs. As such, I am quite jealous of her. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have John Baird as my MP than David McGuinty orPaul Dewar, who are both Ottawa-area MPs

On Thursday, September 22, 2011, theRight Honourable David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, addressed the Parliament of Canada on Thursday, September 22, 2011, and had nothing but praise for Canada. I thoroughly enjoyed his speech, especially the remarks about theDuke and Duchess of Cambridge, and how they get to see all sorts of places before he even gets to visit those same places. But ultimately, what's more important, and touching, is that he began his speech by paying tribute to theHonourable Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. Don't believe me? Check out the video, below...
Moving on... I would like to talk about how old-fashioned I am, especially when it comes to technology. As a dude, I enjoy using technology as much as the next guy. In fact, I love technology. However, I am not crazy enough to keep up with the latest technology, and will only upgrade my existing technological items once they've died off, or they've become unbearable to work with. For starters, I bought a now-obsolete Zune HD on eBay (because this particular product was not offered in Canada... and the Zune is no longer produced, but can be found within new Windows Phones) this past summer. After that purchase on eBay, I wrote anarticle chronicling my previous MP3 players. The reason I had to replace my old Zune 8 was for the following reason, which I wrote in the aforementioned article: "That Zune lasted me for well over three years. Eventually, at some point this year (2011), the screen's back-light stopped working properly. So, in other words, I had to look really, really hard to see what was playing on my Zune. So, watching video podcasts on the Zune was virtually impossible. And if I were in the dark, I were out of luck." The reason that happened, which was not mentioned in the aforementioned article, is because some evil relatives ran over it with a vehicle, which will also remain a mystery. Had the Zune 8's lack-of-light hadn't occurred, I'd still be using the Zune 8 right now. By the way, that aforementioned article (writing about technological failures... or happiness, getting your picture taken outside a store, etcetera) helped me win $20 in gift cards from Future Shop's "Tapped In" promotion (they even had a fancy Facebook app for it). So, basically, my point so far is that if I buy something new in terms of technology, I will try to use it for as long as I can before I switch to new and emerging technology, which seems to be happening every day now. In fact, that's what theInternational CES in Las Vegas is for. Then, we've got E3 in Los Angeles. Moving on from my MP3 player, another big purchase I made this summer was theMotorola ATRIX 4G on eBay, after I got fed up with the lack of apps I had access to on theAndroid Market because I was using old Android software on my previous phone (Motorola QUENCH, which is old and no longer offered). Despite being an old phone, that Motorola QUENCH phone has served me well. Because of my decision to purchase that phone (I give credit to this decision for mysterious reasons), I won a $2,400 phone bill credit, which was actually paid in cash instead. I've also taken it with me to some awesome Canadian cities. In fact, here's a list of where that Motorola QUENCH phone has been (outside of Saskatoon, and the cities below are only listed if I've actually placed or received phone calls in those cities):

On a different note, there are some completely useless apps on theAndroid Market that I enjoy. They include the following:

BIC® Concert Lighter
Tazer Free
Magic 9 Ball (I usually use this app when talking to my mom... I ask "Is my mom a loser?" before shaking the phone, and when the app tells me that she is indeed a loser, she calls me a "bastard")

Now, just in case you're wondering, I do have some suggestions for some useful apps too, even if they're slow, or usually unresponsive. Here is a list of apps that I frequently or occasionally use, in no particular order:

Canadian Tire
Google+
EBSCOhost
Canada Post Corporation
ICQ
Groupon
GasBuddy
Blackboard Mobile Learn
My Coffee Card (the official Starbucks app doesn't work in Canada, yet)
People of Walmart
Redflagdeals
Saskatoon Bus Schedules (somewhat outdated)
Skype
Sell Books Univ Saskatchewan
Shell Station Locator
iUsask

Moving back to technology... anyway, my point so far is that I don't like to upgrade to new technological items, unless it seems absolutely necessary. Now, despite having access to some of the latest technology, I do occasionally like to perform some tasks "old school." For example,Groupon is an interesting website, and many websites similar to it have since launched. If you are not familiar with Groupon, it is a "group buy" website. A local business, website, or national company, depending on which city you're set to, will offer a deal that seems too good to pass up. Users pay the advertised price for a certificate or voucher, and then take it to the retailer or business to redeem the deal. However, there is usually another condition to it, such as requiring a specific amount of people to pay up and purchase that same deal, before it gets "activated." So, assuming that you've got the deal and it has been approved, you will either print off a Groupon certificate, or you can use a smartphone app on aBlackBerry device,iPhone,Windows Phone (requires the Zune software),Android phone,iPad... or any mobile phone, as a mobile version of the website does exist. As a guy who can't make up his mind on whether he wants to use a cool smartphone app or paper certificate, I often print off Groupon certificates, because I like wasting paper.

The same goes for bill payments. Sure, online banking services exist that allow you to pay your bills... but there are usually other options. My cell phone bill to Rogers, for example, has many different payment options. I can arrange for a payment through my bank, online. Alternatively, I can pay my bill at my local Rogers Plus store, pay online through their website with my credit card (or from my mobile phone), mail in a cheque, call their automated service and pay by credit card... and there's probably a lot more that I don't know about. But, usually, whenever I'm bored, I often write a cheque and mail it to them, despite knowing that it may get lost in the mail, or the fact that it would take four business days for them to even receive the cheque in the mail. My mail-in-a-cheque-for-payment plan often goes for credit card statements and utilities as well, depending on how I feel during any given month. Yeah... I'm crazy, aren't I?

Moving on... there is one person I'd like to talk about: Herman Cain. For those of you who don't know who Herman Cain is, Mr. Cain is a Republican presidential candidate who was running against others for the Republican nomination for president. Whoever receives the Republican nomination would be the Republican candidate that will officially attempt to replace Barack Obama as president during the 2012 election. Herman Cain is a businessman and was once involved with Godfather's Pizza (a really cool name for a pizza chain). Eventually, sex scandals rocked his campaign, thus forcing him to "suspend" (I don't know if this means he's done for... yet). There were allegations by various women that hesexually harassed two women during his time at theNational Restaurant Association during the 1990s, which may have started the sex scandals. The scandals got so bad that Mr. Cain eventually said that he wouldtake a lie detector test to prove his innocence. Eventually, he ultimately suspended his presidential campaign,not long after another woman accused him of having an affair with her. That was a shame, as I was really hoping that Mr. Cain would be the frontrunner the entire time, for various reasons, as listed below:

Mr. Cain is more interesting than Barack Obama.
Mr. Cain has a way cooler voice than Barack Obama.
Mr. Cain is sane, unlike his Republican competitors.
Mr. Cain speaks faster than Barack Obama, therefore making him more interesting than Barack Obama.
Mr. Cain is more interesting than Barack Obama.
Mr. Cain wears cool glasses, as proven in this video.
Mr. Cain is bald, therefore making him look cooler than Barack Obama.
Barack Obama may be cool on television, but Mr. Cain is way cooler than Mr. Obama on television.
It is easier to picture Herman Cain and Prime Minister Stephen Harper together.

That is all for my reasons as to why I like Herman Cain. Most of them were obviously nonsensical, but I guess it was to make this blog update even longer than necessary. While you're at it, I highly suggest that you readthis article.

Have you ever seen the show Extreme Couponing on TLC? That show features many average American citizens who spend a considerable amount of time looking for coupons online, in flyers, or in local newspapers. In fact, the trend has led to newspapers mysteriously disappearing around the United States. But, when these "average" Americans go to the grocery store, they load up on hundreds or thousands of dollars in groceries, and end up paying next to nothing. In fact, there's a 16-year-old who spends 30-or-so hours a week clipping coupons. Don't believe me?Click here. Although I do consider myself cheap, I do not spend anywhere near as much time as these people clipping coupons, but I do spend a good amount of time looking for coupons. These people are also dedicated, and many of them may know each store's coupon policies by heart. In each one of these shopping trips, it may take many hours to browse through the grocery store, and these people often have stockpiles of the same items. In fact, some people have even turned their guest rooms into rooms for their stockpiles, while others have converted guest rooms into rooms for their stockpiles. I'm all for using coupons, but I don't like the idea of having a stockpile for my groceries, particularly perishable goods or junk food. Some stores, such asWalmart (in the United States) have toughened their coupon policies in an effort to prevent people with so many coupons from shopping at their stores. Here in Canada, "extreme couponing," is possible, asshown in this news article, but is still a lot more difficult than it is in the United States, due to many restrictions that are in place by Canadian retailers, as they do not face as much competition as retailers in the United States do. However, if I had more time, I would probably find more ways to save money before I go shopping, as I love using coupons (in paper form, specifically). As of recently, there was a good deal that I didn't post tothis blog, because I didn't think it'd be relevant to everyone. Recently, I printed multiple copies ofthis coupon. The coupon, when presented to any retailer that accepts the coupon, allows you to save $5.00 when you purchase anyLISTERINE Whitening product listed on the coupon itself. This was good because the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East here in Saskatoon was selling the 473 mL bottles at $5.99 each (with a limit of six at this price). With the coupon, it would be $0.99 (before taxes... you had to pay the tax associated with the $5.00 though). There are various reasons as to why I did not post this little deal. First off, only that location was selling the bottles at $5.99. When I paid a visit to the store located at 411 Confederation Drive, the selling price of the identical product was $6.77 and was as high as $8.99, which was price that I was used to seeing. Secondly, the "Sweet Deals" blog located on this website is more about freebies, rather than almost-free. Anyway, back to the usage of coupons... some people are embarrassed to use coupons.. and I'm not. Using coupons save you money, so why not use them? Also, now, there's aSaskatoon connection!

In fact, beforeBlockbuster Canada Co.'s court-appointed receiver obtained a court order to shut down the company's remaining stores after being placed into receivership, almost every visit I made to their stores included using coupons. Let me explain the process to you. At the beginning of the month, I would grab a copy of their "News & Previews" magazine either online or in-store, which informed customers of new release movies and their release dates. Then, I would circle which movies I'd like to rent in that given month. Prior to the summer of 2009, my strategy was different. Back then, it did not matter which day of the week I paid a visit to the store. What I knew was that new release movies were a set price, with brand new movies due within three days (up to eleven days before the item was sold to you, as part of the "No Late Fees" policy they had). As a Blockbuster Rewards member, it was important to me to get as much value out of the package as I could, as it cost $9.99 per year, in addition to the coupons I got in my "Entertainment Pack." So, before every visit to the store, I would plan out which movie(s) I wanted to rent, and I would go through my existing coupons in an attempt to use as many as I could, and which coupons were most practical to use, given the situation. Back then, there were also a lot of emails that the company would send out that would include value-added coupons. The important part was that you couldn't double them. A lot of the coupons were either "free new release" coupons, "rent one, get one free" coupons, "rent two, get one free" coupons, "$1 off" coupons, or even "$2 off" coupons. There is a "$2 off" coupon for every month in your Rewards booklet. Let's just say I had a huge batch of them and I wanted to rent three movies in any given week. If all these coupons were available to me, I may decide on using a "free new release" coupon and a "rent 1, get 1 free" coupon in one transaction. If I ran out of those, I may use a "$2 off" coupon and a "rent 1 get 1 free" coupon. I think you know where I'm going with this already. In addition to this, Blockbuster Rewards members often received mailings with additional coupons. In 2009, Blockbuster Canada Co. changed their pricing structure on all new release movies. That year, all new releases were priced as follows: $3.99 for a 2-night new release, and $5.99 for a 7-night new release. This came with a modified "No Late Fees" policy. For the 2-night rental, they would charge you an additional viewing fee of $1.00 per day. For the 7-night movie rental, you can keep it for up to seven additional days after the due date, without charge. The Rewards program was also modified and renamed Me-wards. What didn't change for Rewards members is that they got a free rental (either a movie or game) for every five new release movie or game rentals every month, as long as they were paid for. But in 2009, a change to the Me-wards program meant that every rental you made counted as two rentals, if you paid for those rentals on Wednesdays. When the program first rolled out, I had a class for the most part on Wednesdays, thus making it inconvenient for me to visit the stores. In 2010, during my second term of the 2009-2010 school year, it became convenient, and I took advantage of the program whenever there were good movies available to rent. Eventually, my game plan changed during the 2010-2011 school year, and I had to strategically plan my visits. By strategically planning my visits, I had to decide what I wanted to rent on Tuesday nights, and I would draft a list. Once that list was drafted, I would decide on what coupons to use. Once that was decided, I would write up which movies to pick, based on reverse-alphabetical order, and whether it was a "Critics Pix." In most stores, movies were often placed alphabetically from the left to right with "Critics Pix" placed somewhere in between. In order for my plan to be successful, I had to familiarize myself with the layout of Blockbuster Canada Co. stores I would often visit. At the store located at 1505 8th Street East, next to Westgate Books, you entered on the right, so any movies beginning with the letter "A" would be to your far-left. As such, it was more economical to browse in reverse-alphabetical order. At the store located at 105 Confederation Drive, you entered the store on the left, which mean that movies starting with "A" would be the first things you saw on the wall of new releases. However, what's important to note is that the success of Blockbuster (originally) was that the stores could be customized to fit in with their local neighbourhoods. Because of this, I did not like the layout of the Confederation store, and I stopped going there altogether at some point in early 2010. Another reason I chose to visit the 8th Street store more often was because of its proximity to the University of Saskatchewan campus, and the fact that the store was conveniently located by four bus stops served by two different bus routes. This has served me well from all directions. Coincidentally, all directions gave me a 12-or-13 minute window to visit the store, do my business, get out and catch aSaskatoon Transit bus to wherever I wanted to go. Anyway, because I made my list of movies to rent in advance, and in reverse-alphabetical order, I would start from the right side of the store and end up on the left side of the store, before I conveniently paid for my rentals and left the store. In fact, I've been so fast that I've had enough time for chit-chat during my weekly visits that occurred only on Wednesdays. The only time my plan backfired was in February of 2011, and that was because a transit bus arrived three minutes too early and didn't even stop for a layover. As such, I had to call a cab and barely made it on time for my POLS 237 (Modern Political Theory) class. The biggest change after the 2009 price structure change is that the coupons that came with the emails were becoming irrelevant, as they were no longer related to movie or game rentals. Some of the coupons made gaming accessories really cheap, but those coupons did not interest me at all. Eventually, those coupons disappeared altogether, and the emails only became informational emails to me. At some point, Blockbuster Canada Co. began working withSPC Card, and some awesome printable coupons were emailed to me. In the fall of 2010, Blockbuster Canada Co. officially became a retailer listed as an SPC Card retailer. The deal was that you would receive a free bag of microwaveable popcorn with a paid new release movie rental, if you were an SPC Card member. This meant that every Wednesday, I came home with new release movies, as well as a bag of Blockbuster's microwaveable popcorn, which eventually started stacking up. In fact, I still have four packages of the stuff, and they have "best before" dates of January, 2013 right now. At some point this year, I paid a visit to the 8th Street store on a Wednesday night, when bus schedules didn't matter, and used eight coupons in one transaction, thus making that a record for me. Unfortunately, Blockbuster Canada Co. was placed into receivership on May 3, 2011 (one day afterCanadians elected a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government), and ultimately announced the closure of their remaining 253 stores on August 31, 2011, after being forced to close 146 stores. For those of you ignorant people who still think Netflix killed Blockbuster Canada Co.,click here for a refresher. Here's something interesting: the last time I ever rented at a Blockbuster Canada Co. store was on September 7, 2011. To see a copy of the receipt,click here.

Now that I've finished talking about using coupons (specifically at Blockbuster Canada Co. stores), let's move on...

The next thing I would like to discuss is people's reliance on horoscopes. Horoscopes are fun to read, because they always seem reassuring. However, they aren't always exactly the best guide, since there does not seem to be any scientific evidence that horoscopes can be correct. As such, up until recently, I had not read any horoscopes since 2009. But recently, I read ayearly horoscope for Aquarius for 2011 and some of the things I read were eerily coincidental, which is starting to scare me just a little bit. For instance, in that link, under the heading "Aquarius 2011 Love, Family and Social life Horoscope," the website stated the following: "Often, the Aquarian avoids romantic or intimate relationships on a long term level in favor of independence." That is often true... but many have known that, as I've been saying "Dating is for suckers" on/off over the last couple of years. It was then followed by the following: "Thanks to the movement of Neptune in the Aquarius 2011 yearly horoscope, your sensitive nature will long for the life lessons a commitment to love can bring." That... was eerily true. This past fall was when I decided to ask someone out, despite my insistence that dating is indeed for suckers. To top that off, this part just creeps me out: "Come fall, the ability to open your heart to forever is strong. Do not be afraid to take risks with your heart during this time, Aquarius. It might be uncomfortable to open yourself to the probing interests of another but it's time. Your peaceful nature this year will aid in your ability to achieve this transition into togetherness." I was rightfully afraid, as it turned out, but I did express my feelings to someone, and it felt great, even if things didn't work out in the end. This is the only part I disagreed with: "Your peaceful nature this year will aid in your ability to achieve this transition into togetherness." Another eerily-coincidental part of that website was under the heading "Aquarius September 2011 Horoscope," which stated: "You may get surprising and exciting news from relationships around the 23 rd." But under the heading "Aquarius November 2011 Horoscope," the website linked states the following: "There is a possibility of misunderstanding with close aides or friends, be aware and you may be able to minimizes the chances." Well... November was the month where I lost a friend because she thought it would be best to stop talking to me entirely, as of November 25, 2011. If an opportunity ever arises, there are a few things I would like to tell that person (it would be how I feel about that person now, after the fact that she is no longer talking to me, but it probably won't ever happen). Based on the events that have occurred this year, I hope you can see why horoscopes are starting to scare me. But interestingly enough, the December section states the following: "With Venus entering your sign on 20 th your powers of attraction will increase immensely. Committed couples will reconnect in a new way while singles may end a relationship or begin a new one." It would be really, really scary if that became true... but so far, it hasn't been true. But... there's still time. But at the beginning of the horoscope, it did state the following: "In the Aquarius 2011 yearly horoscope, this is the year of past labor resulting in fruition." This is somewhat true, as I was named "Associate of the Month" back in July (and that made me proud of myself... particularly because of the reasons I was chosen... check out the email), and I got to go on one of my most favourite vacations, ever (my return to Ottawa and Montréal, as well as my visit Québec City, which I'll talk about later in this post). Again, this is a little scary. But, if horoscopes are to be believed, the following will happen to me in 2012:

Something exciting will occur during the months of April through June.
I will be provided with opportunities and chances that will allow me to attain goals that I did not accomplish in 2011. As such, I should be pleasantly surprised.
Work may require me to move from my present residential address to a new home.
I will have my chance to meet and form a special relationship with another person in 2012 and will likely occur during the second half of the year.
I might experience added monetary benefits.

In fact, there's even a video on that website, which I have posted below:

Please note that I am still very sceptical of this whole horoscope thing. If 2012 turns out to be what that website says it'll be, I'm going to become a major believer... I think. We'll have to see how 2012 goes, since none of us can tell what the future has in store for us. But, if I do find love in 2012, I hope the series of events leading up to it are good enough for a sitcom, as I imagine it would be a funny story to tell anyone.

Moving on...

As you know, I dislike labour unions. Speaking of that, you may or may not know that British government workers were on a general strike recently and took over the streets of London and other parts of Britain to protest the fact that they will finally have to work longer to qualify for pensions as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government is looking for ways to trim its massive debt. Sure, I understand their reasons for striking, and their reasons for protesting. However, what I don't understand is this:
That red symbol with a line across the perimeter usually means "no." So, by putting the phrase "NO CUTS" behind that symbol, isn't their message counter-productive, as that would make them in favour of government cutbacks? That makes me wonder if all union members are always contradicting themselves...

Since I'm complaining about left-wing movements, I might as well discuss other left-wing issues. Let's start with Members of Parliament associated with theNew Democratic Party of Canada. You already know that I dislike the New Democratic Party of Canada with a great passion and am a huge fan of the Conservative Party of Canada, which received astrong mandate for a strong, stable, national, majority, Conservative government on May 2, 2011. Anyway, I'm sure that the NDP has some fine MPs that work hard for their constituents, as all MPs do, but there is one NDP MP I can't stand hearing, or seeing for that matter, and that person isJinny Sims. Have you heard her speak? Her voice is so unbearable that I can't stand her. Don't believe me? Just watch one of her lame videos. Oh yeah, speaking of the Conservative Party of Canada, I have given themtoo much money as of June.

Moving on and continuing with my tradition of complaining about the left, the organization I would like to discuss next would beThe Sheaf, which is theUniversity of Saskatchewan's student-run newspaper. Recently, StarPhoenix columnist Les MacPherson wrote a column on the December 3, 2011 issue of thedaily newspaper regarding the search for a new president at the school, since Peter MacKinnon, who has been the school's president since 1999, will be resigning as of June 30, 2012. In his column, Mr. MacPherson hilariously suggests that Mr. MacKinnon be replaced with any of the following people, and listed his reasons for his picks: Kent Austin (from theSaskatchewan Roughriders), Kevin O'Leary (from the CBC), Mike Holmes (contractor), Conrad Black (who once owned The StarPhoenix), Clive Weighill (Saskatoon's police chief), Brad Wall, Dr. Janice MacKinnon (Peter MacKinnon's wife, as she would save moving costs), Vianne Timmons (president of theUniversity of Regina), Michael Ignatieff and Russ Marchuk (simply because heknocked out former NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter in the last election, which saw the Saskatchewan Party government re-elected with astrong majority government). I usually find Mr. MacPherson's columns quite entertaining, and I am surprised that anyone would take offence to them. Now, what I do find offensive, is the behaviour of whoever maintains theFacebook page of The Sheaf. On December 3, 2011, at 2:22 pm here in Saskatoon, someone who maintains that Facebook page posteda link to the aforementioned column. However, the comments that were attached with the link contained some questionable text. Here is a screenshot of that questionable "description:"

I think it is an absolute disgrace that a student-run paper, which is usually expected to be ideologically neutral, would use the phrase "They include Conrad Black, Kevin O' Leary and Mike Holmes, among other right-wing weirdos." Really? What kind of paper is this? What disturbs me is that the paper is usually-and-obviously... left-wing. What's funny, however, is that whoever made the posting, can't seem to the spell the columnist's name correctly, or the name of the paper that it is referring to. That's a shame...

Moving on...

Back in September, the City of Saskatoon announced plans toimprove the appearance of Central Avenue in the Sutherland area. That whole street looks run down, and I'm glad the City of Saskatoon will finally be improving the street's appearance. More information can be found by clicking here. Now, if only they'd complete theexisting work in downtown Saskatoon, and then get started withCollege Drive. I just hope that all existing LFE traffic signals will be re-used, rather than be replaced by Econolite signals. In case you haven't noticed, morerecent traffic signal installations have involvedEconolite signals, unless there are traffic signalsbeing reinstalled.

In 2013, Target will be opening its first Canadian stores. However, what still isn't clear, to this day, is how many stores the Saskatoon area will have. The only thing we know so far, is that theZellers location atThe Centre will be converted into a Target store. As for media reports, eventhose reports are unclear as to what will eventually happen to the stores atMarket Mall and theMall at Lawson Heights. But regardless of how many stores will be open in Saskatoon, I am still excited about the arrival of Target's first Canadian stores. The only thing I wonder is... what will happen to theold-school Zellers store on Sparks Street in Ottawa?

Back in July, Maurice Neault, who served as the city councillor for Ward 3 down at City Hall here in Saskatoon,suddenly passed away. Mr. Neault was credited by the mayor for the growth on the west end of Saskatoon in recent years, including the development of theHampton Village neighbourhood. To make things worse, his replacement is someone that I have a problem with:Ann Iwanchuk, who is the wife ofAndy Iwanchuk, the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for Saskatoon Fairview, who failed to get defeated in the last provincial election that saw theSaskatchewan Party get re-elected with an evenstronger majority government. The problem I have with Ann Iwanchuk is her ties to major unions. The only thing that really relieves me is that her ties to major unions will not matter in her position.

The next thing I would like to discuss is the stupid "Occupy" movements that have occurred across Canada. First of all, I have failed to understand why they even exist, since what they've been doing at parks across North America is... squatting. As for "we are the 99%" slogan, it sounds stupidly annoying. Instead of taking up parks that were meant for the public to enjoy, they should find more things productive things to do with their time. "Protesters," as they have been calling themselves, do indeed have a right to protest. They just don't have a right to camp on public property, as it becomes squatting. Here in Canada, the movement appears to be largely... over. Sure, some may still have those "online" protests, but does anyone really pay attention to such lame protests unless huge companies are behind them? I doubt it. Now, although I have a pittance of an opinion on this matter, there is one person I agree with: Phil Hoffort from North Battleford, Saskatchewan. You should readthis letter to the editor regarding the "Occupy" 'movement.'

As of this most recent educational term, I had a class with Dr.Jason Zorbas, who was the instructor in myPOLS 248: Foundations of American Government class. The class had interesting content, and I was fully immersed in American politics, which is an area I generally don't pay attention to. So, as a result of this class, I found myself more interested in American politics than in previous years, especially since I started to slightly understand American institutions. I've also learned that a good amount of Republicans are hypocrites, thus making them even more awesome than they were prior to this class. So, when it came to evaluating him as an instructor, I gave him extremely high ratings on all aspects of his teaching. When it came to feedback, my comments were full of praise. My two friends that usually sit next to me, who shall remain unnamed, also gave him high marks in all aspects of his teaching. Prior to the evaluation, however, one friend said the following: "I trust Jason with my life. If he were to tell me the sky were green, I'd probably believe him. He's the only reason I wake up every morning." So, if you thought I went too far with giving Dr. Zorbas high marks in every aspect, I obviously haven't gone far enough. In January, once a new term begins at the University of Saskatchewan, I will have another class with Dr. Zorbas. Right now, I would like to register in hisPOLS 376: Issues in Canadian Foreign Policy class, but have not met the pre-requisite requirements for the class:POLS 375 (Canada and the World). One of my friends, who trusts Dr. Zorbas with his life, claims he has already obtained permission to take the class, despite not having credit for the pre-requisite. Unfortunately, for me, his POLS 376 class is scheduled during another one of my classes.

Moving on... I'd like to talk about safety when it comes to driving in Saskatoon. To start off this discussion, I must note that there is a considerable amount of construction along Circle Drive, particularly from the area north of Clarence Avenue South to south of Preston Avenue South. In this area, the speed limit is 60 km/h. Before Preston Avenue South and Circle Drivewas split into two separate signalized intersections, there was a strip of Circle Drive that did not seem to be utilized at all, mainly by the Preston Avenue area. Now, I haven't really noticed a difference in speed, but that's because I haven't been out very much in recent months since school started. But during the summer, I felt like I was the only person who was travelling at the speed limit, while it seemed like every other vehicle around me sped past me, including some who have flipped me off. Upset by the lack of police in the area, I wrote a letter to Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill about the matter. To read the letter,click here. The Saskatoon Police Service did respond, but the response was not a personal response from the chief himself. To read their response,click here. Not satisfied, I wrote a letter to Premier Brad Wall. To see that letter,click here. Premier Brad Wall did respond, but the letter simply stated that he forwarded my letter over to the Minister of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing. I did eventually receive a letter from the Honourable Yogi Huyghebaert, Minister of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing. As it turns out, Premier Wall forwarded my letter tothe incorrect department. The letter then informed me my letter had been forwarded yet again. This time, it was forwarded over to the Honourable Tim McMillan, Minister Responsible for SGI. Hisresponse was kind of useless, but did note that my interest in traffic safety is commendable.But now, I don't feel as unsafe when driving in Saskatoon, but it's probably only indicative of the current driving conditions. I am sure that once the snow melts, the crazy drivers will be back on the mean streets of Saskatoon. Speaking of mean streets, one of my Facebook friends said the following when comparing Willowgrove to College Park, where he lives: "I'd rather be in Willowgrove than have to travel the mean streets of College Park where I live. It's ghetto. Nothing but ghetto Vietnamese people and Ghanaians left and right." It's funny, because I'm Vietnamese, and he's Ghanaian.

One day this past summer, when my friend Taylor Martens visited Saskatoon after moving away to Burnaby, British Columbia two years ago, we had a discussion about how life is outside of Saskatoon. He, for one, does not like living in Saskatoon and seems to despise it. Unlike Taylor, I do love Saskatoon, for very odd reasons. For starters, I like the way most of Saskatoon's traffic signals are set up... they're fairly simple, and cool-looking. And up until recently, I thought that the Real Canadian Superstore located at 2901 8th Street East here in Saskatoon, was one of the more unique locations, until its renovation in 2010. Previously, I've always said that I would miss visiting that specific location and the traffic signals in Saskatoon, if I were to ever move, as I had expressed interest in moving to Ottawa, our nation's beautiful capital city. But now that I no longer include the Real Canadian Superstore on that list, it occurs to me that I forgot something very important and unique about Saskatoon: Fuddruckers. Fuddruckers rightfully claims that they have the world's greatest hamburgers, and I love that place. But here in Canada, there is only one location, and that location is in Saskatoon. There were other locations in Canada, but they've all closed across Canada, with the exception of Saskatoon. Therefore, if I were to ever move to any other city in Canada, I would miss the seeing the traffic signals in this city, and the fact that there was a Fuddruckers located conveniently at 2910 8th Street East. If you haven't picked it up already, I'm a die-hard fan of Fuddruckers... just not enough to trust them with my life.

After professing my love for Fuddruckers, I would now like to talk about Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former prime minister. Mr. Berlusconi was the previous prime minister of Italy that often faced allegations of sexual harassment and was more recently accused of having sex with underage hookers at "bunga bunga" parties that he hosted. However, that's not why I liked him. The reason I liked him was that for his age, he looked pretty young. He was also well-dressed and the fact that he owns a good number of media outlets in his country made him a legend to me, as it allows him to control the main media messages in his country. Sure, some would say that's unfair, but we do live in a "survival of the fittest" world, don't we? Now, Mr. Berlusconi is gone... and even though it may be good for his country's economic well-being, I am going to miss him. I do know one friend, who is Ghanaian, that would agree with my statement.

Does anyone really watch The Office anymore, especially after Steve Carell (Michael Scott) left the show? I know that I gave the show a few chances after Mr. Carell left, and then continued to watch the show for a few weeks once the current season commenced. Unfortunately, the show has gone downhill so quickly that I have given up on the show as of October 27, 2011, the same night Beavis and Butt-head returned to television on MTV. As for the return of Beavis and Butt-head, I couldn't be happier to see them back on television, as I've missed them dearly. There is another show that I recently started watching, and that show is Allen Gregory, which airs on FOX. That show's first season is now over, as of December 18, 2011, and I'm kind of glad it is over, as I already watch too much television as it is. The show was kind of stupid at first, but then it got funnier, and I was just starting to enjoy it as of this month. Maybe it'll come back for another season... maybe it won't. Right now, I'm looking forward to seeing the animated versions of Napoleon Dynamite and The Flintstones, which will be produced by Seth MacFarlane (again). As forNew Girl, that show looks stupid. How about I Hate My Teenage Daughter? Have you seen that show? It's stupid, but that's enough about television shows... for now.

Let's skip my complaints for a bit, and move onto talking about some news. For starters, we can talk about the "West Memphis Three," who were convicted of murdering three Cub Scouts over allegations that the grisly killings were allegedly part of a Satanic ritual, and were eventually released, after pleading guilty to the crimes in a subsequent trial in order to be released from prison. However, what's important to note is that the three convicts always maintained their innocence. Investigators found no physical evidence to connect the three men to the murders, and DNA testing, which was only done recently, led to two different individuals. If there is no evidence linking them to the crime, and family members of two victims are coming out in support of the three men, was justice really served, even though they were released? After all, in order to be released and to be sentenced to the 18 years they spent in prison, rather than life sentences, they had to plead guilty to crimes they probably didn't commit. How is that fair? It is cases like this that make me an opponent of capital punishment. However, I am still a proponent of minimum sentences, and as such, I still support the passage of Bill C-10: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum penalties for offences involving firearms) and to make consequential amendment to another Act.

On September 22, 2011,an article appeared on The StarPhoenix that talked about those who wanted the federal election boundaries in Saskatchewan to change, suggesting that Saskatchewan's federal electoral boundaries are divisive. The article quoted professors and former electoral commission members that suggested Saskatchewan's major cities be split into bigger sections that also included strictly-urban ridings, rather than have them lumped with surrounding small municipalities, such as Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. Right now, Saskatoon's ridings include Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, Saskatoon-Humboldt, Saskatoon-Wanuskewin and Blackstrap, which all include a chunk of Saskatoon and some small towns nearby. Some want change, but some don't. For instance, the article stated that by splitting between city-only polls and rural polls during federal elections, the only Saskatoon-area riding to notice a difference was Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, citing election results from 2008 and 2011:

The black sheep of the blended ridings is Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, where in both elections, NDP candidate Nettie Wiebe "beat" Conservative MP Kelly Block in city-only polls.

The article continued to state, however, that in an interview before the May, 2011 federal election, Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar NDP candidate Nettie Wiebe said that "she does not support a redrawing of boundaries that would pry Saskatoon away from its rural fringe." Nettie Wiebe failed to get elected in this year's federal election. In 2008, she lost to Kelly Block by approximately 220 votes. This year, she lost to Kelly Block by about 950 votes (these numbers are based on estimates I heard on the news, and have not been verified). Based on the way that the paper analyzed the results when separating the results of polls within city limits and outside city limits, I feel that the federal election boundaries in Saskatchewan should not change anytime soon, thus making it easier for theConservative Party of Canada to win most of Saskatchewan's seats. In addition, it will be easier for them to continue forming subsequent strong, stable, national, majority, Conservative governments. Another reason for my belief is my personal experience as a Deputy Returning Officer for Elections Canada on May 2, 2011. Based on my own poll that I administered, in which I was required to count all votes, Conservative candidate Kelly Block received about 36 votes.NDP candidate Nettie Wiebe received 64 votes. Meanwhile, the Liberal candidate Lee Reaney received five votes. As for the Green Party of Canada's candidate, she received one vote. Based on my own results and similar results at polls around me, I was devastated to learn thatKelly Block may be indeed defeated. But as it turns out, she won the election in our riding by an even wider margin than her previous win in the 2008 election. So, does Saskatchewan's federal electoral boundaries need to change? My answer to that is a resounding no. Speaking of the Liberal Party of Canada, as I did in this paragraph, former prime minister Brian Mulroney has warned about writing them off entirely, suggesting that the party has ways of reviving themselves.

The next thing I would like to talk about is the kind of people that we are turning into in today's society. For instance, in public, if someone were lying on the side of the road and injured, it seems like most people would just continue to drive. If they don't plan to pull over, they should at least use their cellular phones to dial 911. That way, help will be sent to that person. Instead, everybody seems to be under the assumption that someone else will eventually do so. As it turns out, that is rarely true. That leads me tothis article, in which a two-year-old girl named Yueyue in China gets run over by two cars and is left for dead, while other passersby continue to walk past her dying body and some even avoid her entirely, as seen in the video. This makes me wonder what kind of society the Chinese, as well as us here in Canada, live in. If I saw an injured person somewhere, I would at least call for help. Thankfully, that hasn't happened to me... yet. Now, if something could be done about it, I would call the police and rat out every driver who talked on their cellular phones while their vehicles were in motion. As a pedestrian, I see this more often than not. If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that as of the summer, more tickets have been handed out for cell phone bylaw violations this year than 2010 alone. If that's true, that's sad. Unfortunately, I can no longer find an article regarding that number. If you don't believe me, there is a video below...

Moving on to another topic...

When was the last time you went to a strip mall? You probably don't remember. A strip mall is different from a big-box power centre. Here in Saskatoon, we can compare strip malls to power centres, such as Preston Crossing. Strip malls are usually found in residential neighbourhoods and are often surrounded by houses. Unfortunately, strip malls are a dying breed these days. Why? Well, people are flocking to local shopping malls or big-box power centres, thus contributing to the slow and agonizing death of strip malls. Most strip mallsin Saskatoon, I've noticed, usually have a small family restaurant, laundromat or drycleaner, and convenience store that is usually a local business. Then, depending on how big the strip mall is, the rest of the spaces are... empty. Some strip malls have been more successful than others, because of their surroundings. But for the most part, strip malls are a dying breed. In fact, some neighbourhoods in Saskatoon that have strip malls that I can think of include Meadowgreen (on Avenue W South), College Park (on Acadia Drive) and Eastview (on Arlington Avenue). When I was younger, and living in Calgary, my neighbourhood was Applewood, which had a small strip mall on the corner of Applewood Drive Southeast and 68 Street Southeast (68 Street has since been widened). That strip mall, even though it waskind of a dump, included a Mac's store, a video store and a hair salon. Although it was a dump, it was convenient, because the closest Blockbuster Canada Co. store was still three kilometres away, closer to, but still far from my school at the time. So, this may be another reason as to why strip malls are closing. Because strip malls are only truly convenient to punk kids such as myself these days, perhaps their clientele is shrinking to punk kids. For example, if you had to go out and get milk, what is your first instinct? For me, it would probably mean a trip to your local Real Canadian Superstore or Shoppers Drug Mart... in your car. Sadly, many people have forgotten about the strip malls down the street from their home. Well, there's a strip mall near my own home too, but I refuse to visit them. For starters, I feel unsafe at that strip mall. Secondly, the shopping malls and big-box stores have ample parking and have a lot of other general merchandise, making it more convenient for me to shop at the big-box stores, as I can often do all of my shopping in that big-box store. So, most of the time, I forget about the local strip malls. The only way a strip mall can be memorable to me is if they have a really good restaurant or something... but due to strip malls becoming irrelevant, that isn't likely to happen. So, would I miss my local strip mall if it disappeared? Sure, I'd notice, but I don't know if I'd miss it. And now, I really don't know where this long paragraph is heading, but it does lead me tothis article, which I've referenced. Although strip malls are becoming lame, there are two strip malls in Saskatoon that I occasionally go out of my way to visit: the Churchill Shopping Centre (by Clarence Avenue South and Taylor Street East across the street from Aden Bowman Collegiate) and the Avalon Shopping Centre (on Broadway Avenue near Cascade Street). When I drive my cousins home, I often use Clarence Avenue instead of Circle Drive or the Idylwyld Freeway if we're bored, and I stop by the Mac's store on Clarence Avenue. As for the Avalon-area strip mall, there is a SARCAN recycling depot there that I often go out of my way for, because I have a car, and I can. The closest recycling depot to me is the one located on 22nd Street West (which is also part of a strip mall with a few somewhat-successful businesses and vacant spaces between those aforementioned businesses... which is near a strip mall that has almost no stores whatsoever, unless the spaces are rented out during election campaigns). However, sometimes, when I'm bored, I like to go to the Broadway Avenue location because they have automatic doors that are from Gyro Tech. So... if there are any strip malls I actually enjoy visiting, those would be the two. As for the rest of the strip malls in this city, I don't really care for them. Well, that would be false, as I did care about Lakewood Common, as it included a Blockbuster Canada Co. store, which closed in June. Now, although strip malls truly are a dying breed, they can be repurposed, interestingly enough, according to theaforementioned article. But aside from that, when was the last time you paid a visit to a strip mall in your local neighbourhood? In conclusion to this strip mall matter, I do enjoy visiting strip malls, as they do have a home feeling attached to the stores you visit (if the strip malls are located in residential areas and/or seem to have only "mom-and-pop" stores), but I don't really know how I would feel if they were to suddenly disappear from the face of the earth. I do, however, find it sad that strip malls are becoming a dying breed, even if it's slow, thus giving people time to adjust to a life without strip malls. Again, check outthis article, as it is indeed an interesting read. I know I'm all over the place in this discussion, and I apologize for that, as I don't even know what my argument is anymore. I don't know if I'm sad that strip malls are dying, or if I'm trying to say "good riddance" to them. Although it's sad that strip malls are dying, I don't know if it's that sad. But interestingly enough, the vacancy rate at strip malls in the United States is about 11%, according to the aforementioned article.

Now, I'd like to shift back to politics. Here in Canada, we have a first-past-the-post system, where a government could be formed in a parliamentary system by a political party that received the most votes, or plurality. That is simple, and needs no change. The system is almost a replica of the system that is used in the United Kingdom. There are some good reasons to keep Canada's first-past-the-post system, as it is simple, as I've already explained. The first-past-the-post system is also effective, as it is easier to throw out governments that are unpopular... like that time Pierre Trudeau wasfinally thrown out of office in 1979, only to come back in 1980. As I type this, I have discovered that David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, agrees with me on this front (to be honest, I read this a long time ago, and I really agree withhis position). As a proponent of Canada's existing first-past-the-post system that elected a strong, stable, national, majorityConservative government, I am "enraged" that Elizabeth May, the lame leader of the Green Party of Canada, has chosen to join a legal battle that seeks to change the way Canadians elect their governments. I believe she should butt out, but I guess it's impossible for her to do so, as the first-past-the-post system is apparently unfair to her lame party, even though it somehow managed to get her elected in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands in British Columbia, defeating Conservative incumbent Gary Lunn.Since I've already mentioned Pierre Trudeau, I should mention that his sonJustin is just as foul-mouthed as he is! On December 14, 2011, during question period, he called theHonourable Peter Kent, the Minister of Environment, a "piece of shit." I think it's an absolute disgrace that anyone would use that in the House of Commons, even if the actions that led to the outburst are hilarious. Also, is it just me, or has the government been limiting debate a lot lately? Well, either way, I like it. Listening to theNDP bicker about bills that are going to be passed anyway is like listening to someone's empty threats. It's just... sad. Limiting debate appears to be the only way to get things done... and with a strong, stable, national, majority, Conservative government, that proves that the government wants to get things done efficiently as possible in order to move onto more important business.

The next thing I would like to talk about is theSaskatchewan Information & Library Services Consortium. The system is part of a "One Province, One Library Card" initiative that will essentially allow a user of any public library in Saskatchewan to check out/return materials at any other public library system in Saskatchewan. For example, I live in Saskatoon... but have been known to travel far and unnecessary distances to do things that can be done closer to my home. An example is me visiting a CIBC branch in University Heights when I could easily visit the Confederation Drive branch in Saskatoon and do the exact same thing: deposit cash money. Anyway, having this system may be a good idea, but it spells trouble when I'm dealing with it. Since I've been known to travel long distances for no apparent reason, I thought of something totally pointless, just to say that I did something totally pointless. The new system allows a library user to borrow books from another library system if their own library system doesn't carry what they're looking for. For example, if you are in Saskatoon and were looking for a book that isn't anywhere in Saskatoon, you can request that a copy of that book be placed on hold for you and then sent to a branch of your choosing so that you could pick it up, as long as another library system in Saskatchewan carries that book, thus eliminating the need for an interlibrary loan. Prior to the fall of 2009, you had to resort to an interlibrary loan. Prior to 2009, every library had their own individual systems. In the fall of 2009, theSaskatoon Public Library began moving to the current provincial library system, followed by every other library system. So, if you were bored one night and decided to drive out to Prince Albert like I did in September of 2009, and decided to check out theWapiti Regional Library, and then found something so intriguing that you had to borrow it before coming back to Saskatoon, where would you return it? Well, prior to the fall of 2009, you'd have to drive back to Prince Albert just to return it. Now, if you were in that situation, you could simply return that intriguing book here in Saskatoon. Do you see where I'm going with this yet? Probably not. But, given these options, you would have to be crazy not to believe that I wouldn't take advantage of them, even if it does not serve me with any real advantage. So, given these options, I've been telling myself that someday, I would like to borrow a book in Saskatoon and return it in another municipality somewhere in Saskatchewan, then borrow a book in that municipality and return it in Saskatoon, just to say that I did just that. When I went to Regina back in August, I totally forgot about it. So, at some point in the near future, I plan on doing just that. But instead of Regina, it will be Martensville, which is part of the Wheatland Regional Library system. However, it is important to note that the Wheatland Regional Library has a branch in Saskatoon as well, located on Duchess Street. Does it count if I visit the Saskatoon branch on Duchess Street? After all, it's like I left town, as my library card says "Saskatoon Public Library," but I'll be using the services of another regional library system... so it's like I left town, right? Well, although that may be true, I think it's better if I actually leave town, so I can say I left town to borrow a book at a library, and vice-versa. And on December 23, 2011, I did just that, with the help of my friend Nathan.

This summer, a local Saskatoon-based band calledthe Sheepdogs won amagazine cover contest. Although I am happy that a Saskatoon-based (let alone Canadian) band won the contest, I have yet to listen to their music.

This past summer, the media introduced most Canadians to a guy named Michel Thibodeau, who lives in Ottawa. Thisspecific article claims that Mr. Thibodeau and his wife have "filed some 100 complaints over the dearth of French language services against the federal, provincial and Ottawa municipal governments-everyone, he says, except the police." How convenient. As a 43-year-old father, doesn't he have more important things to do, such as take care of his two kids? The media first introduced many Canadians to Mr. Thibodeau when it came to light that he successfully lodged a complaint against Air Canada about 11 years ago about the lack of French service on an Air Canada flight. The article suggests that the trouble began when he ordered a 7UP and got a Sprite instead. Man, if I ordered a 7UP and got a Sprite instead, I would be totally happy, as7UP sucks in comparison to Sprite. But, apparently, he was upset because the airline's subsidiary's announcement couldn't make an announcement in French on his flight, and that's what apparently ticked him off. In fact, he then took the airline to court and won in 2005, after filing suit in theFederal Court of Canada in 2002. This situation is so ridiculous that it seems like a waste of time. I would be a lot happier, however, if hewere to lose. And if I thought I were done, I'm not... as the article further states: "In 2009, Thibodeau filed seven complaints after trips to Atlanta and the Caribbean for a lack of French services, including being served a Sprite in English." I've always thought that I had too much time on my hands. This guy redefines that belief. If you don't believe what I just said,just read the article.

In recent news, there weremedia reports of parents buying/ordering/obtaining lollipops licked by children that already have chickenpox. Once they received the aforementioned lollipops in the mail from other parents, they would give it to their own kids to infect them with chickenpox at a young age so that they wouldn't have to deal with the chickenpox when they get older. In fact, there's aFacebook page for it. On the page, parents post where they live and ask if anyone with a child who has the chickenpox would be willing to send saliva, infected lollipops or clothing through the mail. Medical experts say the most troubling part of this is parents are taking pathogens from complete strangers and deliberately infecting their children. One concern is that they are sending the virus through the mail. I believe it's quite dangerous, illegal and a little bit odd. If you are a parent who is willing to infect your own kids with chickenpox, then I believe you are morbid.

On December 15, 2011, America officially ended its Iraqi mission that began under the presidency of George W. Bush. The only question is... didanyone really notice?

Up next, I would like to talk about Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in January and miraculously survived. Her recovery has progressed well, and someday, she may be able to speak normally again. Until then, I wish her and her husband Mark Kelly the best. The story of her recovery has been amazing and if you haven't seen her interview on television yet, I suggest that youwatch it online. Since the video is only available to those within the United States, you will also need to installHotspot Shield. The couple have also penned a book together, and I know that it will beworth a read. I just don't have the time to read it, yet.

Some of my own friends have suggested that I should attempt to become thePrime Minister of Canada. That, thankfully, will never happen. However, there is one crazy friend of mine who keeps suggesting that I somehow take over Canada and become the dictator. Now, that will also never happen, so the only thing to do is dream about it. So, I imagine that if I were the supreme dictator Canada, a lot of odd things would occur:

Toyota owners would benefit dramatically. I would introduce major tax credits to existing Toyota owners, and raise taxes on those who do not drive a Toyota, as people should only be driving vehicles from Toyota. However, I have not come up with a plan as to what to do once Toyota's demand goes up and they get overworked.
You shall be able to claim your vehicle(s) as dependant(s) on your annual tax returns, provided that you treat them like humans. This means you will be able to claim your vehicle(s) as dependant(s), provided that you take proper care of them.

That's all that really comes to mind right now... and please keep in mind that I am not serious about these ideas... I just think they're funny ideas.

Up next, I would like to talk about 2GETHER. It's the name of a show and spoof boy-band with the same name. It was hilarious, but was cancelled not long after the death ofMichael Cuccione. However, rumours have surfaced on the Internet that the remaining four members of the band (Kevin Farley, Noah Bastian, Alex Solowitz and Evan Farmer... or Doug Linus, Chad Linus, Mickey Parke and Jerry O'Keefe, respectively) are interested in getting back together and speaking to MTV about making a comeback, including a movie. There's even a Facebook page promoting the idea. I hope this idea does indeed come into fruition.

In recent months, former Saskatoon mayorHenry Dayday has beenasking for an explanation from the City of Saskatoon regarding borrowing and funding for major projects that are being constructed or in the process of being constructed, and has been quite critical of the city, stating that it has been borrowing too much for those projects. He recently said that he is considering running for mayor in next October's municipal election. I hope that he is, as it may finally shake up local politics in Saskatoon. When it comes to politics, I love the federal scene, as I find it quite intriguing, and entertaining. But when it comes to provincial politics, I don't find it as interesting. And when it comes to municipal politics, my interest is virtually non-existent.

The next thing I would like to discuss is the government's efforts to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board's single-desk monopoly. Bill C-18: Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, received royal assent on December 15, 2011. This will allow the government to finally end the monopoly held by the board, thus giving Western Canadian farmersmarketing freedom. This is good for Western Canada, as farmers in Ontario have had that freedom for a very long time. This is good, and the Honourable Gerry Ritz must be hailed! After all, he's our boy from Saskatchewan!

On Wednesday, December 14, 2011, it was announced thatMarriott International Chairman and CEO Bill Marriott will be stepping down from his position. Although I have never met Mr. Marriott, I will certainly miss hearing about him through my immediate management team here in Saskatoon and in Salt Lake City. Even though he lives in the D.C. area, and the fact that the company is based in the D.C. area, it has always given me another reason to want to visit Washington, D.C., as I have not been there before. And yes, I understand that my chances of meeting Mr. Marriott will now be even slimmer than it was yesterday, but it's still worth a trip to Washington, even if there's just an illusion of meeting him. Although he is stepping down,he reiterated that he is not retiring.

For those of you who still question my brand loyalty when it comes toMicrosoft Corp., I would like to assure you that I am still a very huge fan of the company, particularly theirZune, Xbox 360, Windows operating systems and their computer hardware. As forGoogle, however, I am a huge fan of most of their products, particularly their Android operating system and their search engine. However, when it comes to cellular phone brands, I am quite brand loyal toMotorola Mobility, which coincidentally, will be owned by Google, thus making my brand loyalty to them even more rewarding, and much easier.To be honest with you, I'll never be able to make up my mind between the two companies, as they both make excellent products. As for Apple, you will never see me with one of their products, ever.

On November 18, 2011, I learned that Kim Jong-il and Václav Havel had died. For Kim Jong-il, he was the dictator or North Korea while Václav Havel was someone that started a quiet and peaceful revolution in Czechoslovakia that ended communism and began a democracy, as well as capitalism in his country. For Mr. Havel, his passing brings sadness to me. As for Mr. Jong-il's passing, perhaps his passing will bring positive change to North Korea, which is highly considered to be an impoverished state. Now, for all of those people who were publicly weeping, I wonder if their weeping was sincere or staged... it seems so fake thatit's just sad. This reminds me of Jack Layton's death here in Canada... but Jack Layton wasn't a ruthless dictator, and the emotions that people in Canada showed was probably genuine.

For those of you who are opposed to the Government of Canada finally scrapping the ineffective long-gun registry, you should be ashamed. Why? For starters, the government is finally following through with their promise, now that there is a strong, stable, national, majorityConservative government. In fact, many police chiefs and front-line officers have spoken out against the long-gun registry. Among them are Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson andAbbotsford Police Chief Bob Rich. And yes, I do haveproof of that. Now... do you think a long-gun registry could have stopped that guy whoshot up four people near Claresholm, Alberta? Speaking of more government spending, let's talk about the health accords between the federal government and the provincial governments. Right now, the Government of Canada and its provincial counterparts have a health accord that will expire in 2014. The feds have agreed to continue on its path of 6% increases per year in spending beyond that accord by three years. After that, the increase will be limited to 3%, but it's still an increase. And yet, several provinces are calling that a "decrease." Obviously, some finance ministers need a basic math lesson. The only thing I'm curious about is... why is the federal government even funding healthcare when healthcare is provincial jurisdiction, as set out by the Constitution?

Moving on... I'd like to talk about Chiquita Brands International Inc., which recently decided that it wouldstop using fuel formed from Alberta's oilsands in their fleet of vehicles and even pledged to work with a lame organization calledForestEthics. This has led to a campaign by EthicalOil.org to launch a boycott campaign against the company, and I agree with EthicalOil.org's position, as Chiquita itself isn't exactly "ethical" themselves. Luckily, I have no problem with boycotting Chiquita, even though they seem to be the only company that sells bananas to the grocery stores that I actually shop at... because I hate bananas, despite their apparent nutritional value. As for their other products, I don't really eat fresh pineapples... so there's no problem there. The company, however, hasresponded to the controversy.

Despite my long blog update, this year has certainly been an interesting year for conservatism in Canada. I know I may have mentioned this already, but it's worth mentioning once again. For starters, we had that historic May 2, 2011 election that resulted in a strong, stable, national, majority,Conservative government, and the first Conservative majority government since 1988. Then, people in Saskatchewan re-elected our current Saskatchewan Party government that almost wiped out the NDP. But more importantly, the Saskatchewan Party won with 64% of the popular vote.If only we had conservative city councillors and a conservative mayor in Saskatoon. I imagine that the city could fund its free-spending ways by actually having police officers enforce speed limits in construction zones around Saskatoon. The unfortunate part is that Jack Layton passed away on August 22, 2011. But regardless, 2011 was certainly a good year for conservatism in Canada. In fact, the Conservative Party of Canada's president John Walsh has animportant message for you.

Now that I've talked about things that been bugging me, we can now move on to a detailed description of my life since my last blog update.When I last updated this immaculately-coded blog, I was getting ready to leave for a nine-day vacation that would include Ottawa, Montréal andQuébec City. So, let's go back in time to the morning of June 28, 2011.

On the morning of June 28, 2011, my mom dropped me off at theSaskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport. Upon my arrival, Iwas greeted with a long line for the WestJet counters, as the company does not haveself-serve baggage check-in terminals, yet. Eventually, my flight to Toronto was a pleasant one, as I got one of the seats at the very front of the plane, even if I didn't know what the gate number for my next flight to Ottawa would be. Once I arrived at Toronto's Pearson International Airport, I finally knew that my next flight would be at gate C25. I found it odd, however, that even the walkways to the planeshave advertising on them, but I thought it was really cool that theirgates had automatic sliding doors. Eventually, I arrived at theOttawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport, where I saw afull-body scanner. I would end up stepping into one of those before heading home. Eventually, before leaving that airport, I hadlunch... at Harvey's. The meal was quite satisfying, as it was the first I had food from them in over a year (plus, they don't ration ketchup supplies like they do at Saskatoon's only location). It was eventually time to pick up my rental car. Although I reserved aToyota Prius, I was provided with a 2011 Toyota Corolla for my travels. Although I was somewhat disappointed, it did give me a chance to test drive the newly-redesigned Corolla for my own pleasure. Along the way, I saw some things that reminded me of home, and my mom, such as aGiant Tiger store. At this point, I was starting to get homesick... but this trip was important to me, personally. Once I arrived in the Montréal area, specifically Dorval, I spent almost 15 minutes trying to figure out where myhotel was. Eventually, I found theMontréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, but had problems navigating the walkways and roads (plus, this was the busiest airport I've seen in a while), adding another 20 minutes or so to the process. Then, once I found the hotel, I had problems finding another place to park, until a helpful hotel employee told me where to go to find parking. That took another 10 minutes. Eventually, I found the hotel and checked in, andmy room was quite nice and large... especially for a standard room at the hotel. Best of all, it was only $60.24 per night (before Québec's ridiculous tax rate kicks in, which ranges from 13.5-13.925%, as that province actually taxes taxed items). Once I arrived at the hotel, I showered and then headed out to cause some trouble with Nathan. However, before I headed out to Montréal from Ottawa, I made a tweet that said the following: "Now headed to Montréal to visit my racist friend Nathan..." In areply made to me by the Peel Pub on Peel Street, I was tweeted the following: "You should come to Peel Pub while you're in Montréal :) Leave Nathan behind though! LOL." Although that was some good advice, I forgot to go there. Hopefully, they'll be there the next time I visit. After visiting some joint called Le Gourmet Burger (they were unhappy when Nathan ordered a veggie burger, as it probably wasn't popular with a lot of people), we drove 20 minutes to a sketchy-looking place I discovered back in Saskatoon when I used Google to search for "Burger restaurants in Montréal." So, there was one restaurant that looked really sketchy and was located at1855 Rue de Salaberry. In theStreet View images provided by Google, the restaurant was still a burger restaurant that looked really, really small. So, we spent more than 20 minutes driving there from downtown Montréal, only to discover that it had become a curry restaurant. I was certainly disappointed. To see all of the pictures that I may have taken that day,click here. Anyway, to end the night, we had a nonsensical discussion over a cup of surprisingly-tasty tea, or at least that's what I'm assuming, as I don't remember what happened after that pointless venture to that shady burger restaurant that turned out to be a curry restaurant.

On June 29, 2011, I did a lot of cool things. To start off the day, I drove 20 minutes away from my hotel to Cora forbreakfast. This would officially be the first time I had visited such a location, before doing some things I should have done in Saskatoon, such asdepositing a cheque. I eventually paid a visit to St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal. After that, I walked around the area near the Canadian Centre for Architecture. I bet that George Costanza would hang out there if he were in Montréal. But while walking around, I stumbled upon an unusual Toyota dealer in an unusual location:Président Toyota. But as it turns out, there was free parking at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, while I spent money parking three blocks away from the institution. I eventually drove around for a bit and drove around the McGill campus. After a brief pause, I drove through Old Montréal and paid a visit to the Montréal History Centre, which was previously a fire station. After taking another break, I went to a random Loblaws store in Pierrefonds. Eventually, I headed downtown and checked out the Quays of the Old Port of Montréal before checking out the Montréal Science Centre, which has an idTV exhibit, where I created a video about how cars are awesome... as seen below (it was uploaded to Facebook exclusively, and the video had audio problems to begin with):
Anyway, after visiting the science centre, I had an excellent poutine from a place called Montréal Poutine before hanging out with Nathan.We both ended the night by watching an episode of How I Met Your Mother titled "The Stinsons." To see all pictures that I took on June 29, 2011, please click here.

On the morning of June 30, 2011, I drove out to Québec City, which took approximately three hours. On my way there, I stopped at a Tim Hortons location in Saint-Hyacinthe and ordered something in French. But more importantly, I saw a Toyota dealer called Angers Toyota. Upon my arrival in Québec City, I saw a really cool bridge, but was also pleasantly surprised to see a Microsoft office. Then, I drove through some pretty cool parts of town before finally finding a parking spot near the National Assembly. Once I found a parking spot, I walked around for ten minutes looking for a washroom, after dealing with a guy who said "I don't speak English." Then, I checked out the National Assembly, before visiting Les Galeries de la Capitale, a mall that includes an indoor amusement park, where I had lunch... at McDonald's. On the bright side, I had a... poutine with my meal. While out and about, I drove by the arena where the Nordiques previously played before becoming the Colorado Avalanche. Eventually, it was time to leave town, and I did just that. On my way back, I took a picture of a place that I saw earlier, where I was confident my cousin Tony would want to stop. Once I returned to Montréal, I found myself stuck in traffic for almost two hours... and slowly made my way back into the city. Once I did that, I spent 40 minutes trying to Schwartz's, a famous smoked beef restaurant. However, the place looked like it was closed early, and I couldn't find a parking spot nearby. So... I moved on and stopped by the oldest Canadian Tire store I've seen in a long time. Eventually, I dropped by Nathan's house, very tired, and we went to a restaurant across the street from his apartment. I no longer remember the current name of the restaurant, but a Google Street View image is available. I do believe, however, that the restaurant is called "Super Noodles," or something like that. Eventually, I returned to my hotel, as the next day would be a big, big day. I did stop at a Future Shop store to buy a dual-port DC adapter for my rental car (with 14.5% tax) before leaving town. My only regret is not visiting the Krispy Kreme location that I saw, as there weren't any locations in the Montréal area. To see all photos that I took on that day, please click here. As for the Super Noodles restaurant, I found a business card that I took from them back then:

Of course, I would be crazy not to mention Chassé Toyota, which appears to span numerous city blocks.

On the morning of July 1, 2011, Canada Day, I spent a few minutes in the pool and hot tub at the hotel I was staying at. Then, I got packed and left town as I headed to Ottawa, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton). Eventually, I reached Ontario, and saw a vehicle all the way from the Yukon. Then, I arrived in Ottawa, where I spent most of the hot day, outside, near Parliament Hill. Eventually, I walked up the steps to Parliament Hill from Wellington Street near the Confederation Building, where I saw the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with my own eyes and not through a television screen. However, it was impossible for me to get a good picture. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to speak to Kate, so I had no chance of asking her to marry me. Meanwhile, there were free President's Choice burgers and sausages, as well as an odd woman standing in one place. I then went across the river to Gatineau to visit the Casino du Lac-Leamy. Eventually, I checked into the Courtyard Ottawa Downtown for that day and then continued to walk around town. Along my journey, I saw Canada's first Giant Tiger store, I got myself a pastry product from BeaverTails, I saw some elitist places, such as the Ottawa School of Art, the Apple Store, the Ottawa Convention Centre, the Rideau Canal, an advertisement for Manitoba-based MTS vandalized by punks, the National Arts Centre, the British High Commission, Lord Elgin Hotel, a monument dedicated to Aboriginal war veterans, the burial place for Canada's unknown soldier at the National War Memorial, as well as numerous other places. I then visited The Junxion Public House before walking around again. I eventually stumbled upon a place that sold Obama cookies, which were created after February 19, 2009, when he paid a visit to Canada as part of his "foreign" trip as the President of the United States. But before the end of the night, I saw some awesome fireworks. As for the concerts, they were kind of lame. As for alcoholic drinks, I had only a few White Russians. To see all the pictures I took on Canada Day, please click here.

On July 2, 2011, I went to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum, which was totally awesome. Of course, I did start my day off at Cora, next to a closed Blockbuster Canada Co. store on Rideau Street. Then, I went to the St. Laurent Centre for lunch, where I ate at Taco Bell, and felt terrible after that. Then, I went to the Canada Agriculture Museum, where I saw a bunch of cool animals. Eventually, I headed out to the Real Canadian Superstore in Kanata on Eagleson Road... because I can. In the same day, I also visited the Real Canadian Superstore in Westboro on Richmond Road, as well as a closed Blockbuster Canada Co. store on Carling Avenue, John Baird's constituency office, IKEA (for lunch), as well as Pierre Poilievre's constituency office. Overall, it was an excellent day. The places I listed prior to this sentence are in no particular order, as I no longer remember the exact order. Anyway, after visiting the Real Canadian Superstore on Eagleson Road, I noticed that it was 3:30 pm or so, so I decided to drive to downtown Ottawa to check into my next hotel: the Ottawa Marriott, where I would spend my nights until my return to Saskatoon. Once I arrived at approximately 4:00 pm, I was told that my room wouldn't be available for another 20 minutes, and was asked to wait around. Eventually, it got ridiculous and I was told that it still wasn't ready, so the front desk associate treated me to some appetizers at the Spin Kitchen & Bar, located within the hotel. I was served by a bartender who thought he was a hot-shot. While there, I got myself some crab sliders and mini-burgers, which were both the most expensive menu items. The food was good, and I ordered a piña colada, which may have contained a little too much alcoholic content for my own good, as I felt wiped out once I checked into my hotel room. I fell asleep and woke up again at around 7:15 pm. Still feeling really dizzy, I decided to call it a night and spent the rest of the night sleeping. Eventually, I received an allergic reaction, possibly because I was allergic to the crab (but usually, I'm fine after eating crab... so this was a mystery). That night, I wanted to check out the Bayshore Shopping Centre and eat at Milestones for the first time before doing some actual shopping at IKEA, instead of just having lunch there. That didn't happen, and all I did was continue to try to sleep. Eventually, I had a huge craving for some sort of carbonated drink and tried to get some pop through room service. The front desk had told me that it would take 35 minutes or so to get a glass of pop to me... so, I decided to go downstairs to the front desk and purchase some pop... at $2.50 per can. Surprisingly, I saw a few cans of Sprite Zero available, which was odd, as all Marriott hotels supposedly only carry Pepsi beverages and other associated products. Being the Coca-Cola fan than I am, I decided to buy two cans of Sprite Zero, and they were really, really good for some reason. Of course, after getting those two cans of Sprite Zero, I called my mom back in Saskatoon, like I do every day when I travel. As for the bartender, the reason he seemed like a big shot is because of how he acted like a know-it-all. While I was dining, someone that looked like the head chef at the restaurant said: "Alex, I hear you make a mean piña colada." Then, the bartender responds: "It's not my specialty, but I do what I can. Oh... what the hell, I make the best piña coladas out there," while making a facial remark that made it like I was a major inconvenience to him.

On July 3, 2011, I started my day out by driving along Wellington Street, only to find that that the stage on Parliament Hill had yet to be dismantled. Then, I had breakfast at Cora, again. The location that I visited however, just happened to be across the street from the area where all OC Transpo buses are stored overnight. I also saw an open Blockbuster Canada Co. store (at the time), as well as a restaurant called Fat Albert's. After driving around doing nothing, I paid a visit to the Canada Science and Technology Museum. I particularly enjoyed the broadcasting exhibit in regards to television. But more importantly, my absolute favourite exhibit was called "In Search of the Canadian Car," which was sponsored by Toyota Canada and featured a 20th anniversary edition 2008 Toyota Corolla and the very first Toyota Prius. Eventually, I left the museum, but did see a vintage rail car outside, and you could even purchase tickets. Once I did leave the museum's grounds, I decided to head to the Real Canadian Superstore on Innes Road for some allergy medications, where I bought a pack of ten Reactine pills for $9.99, plus 13% HST (harmonized sales tax). Don't believe me? I've got proof. I needed the stuff, especially after having an allergic reaction the day before. On the way there, I saw two Petro-Canada gas stations across the street from another (one location was previously a Sunoco location). For those of you who care, Petro-Canada was acquired by Suncor Energy in 2009. Eventually, the decision was made that all Sunoco gas stations would convert to the Petro-Canada name, which would explain why I saw two locations of the same gas station across the street from another. I also noticed that Value Village on Innes Road had automatic sliding doors, while the roundabout at the intersection St. Joseph Boulevard and Jeanne d'Arc Boulevard was surprisingly easy to navigate, as there were signs that clearly indicated what you had to do as a driver. After all that, I paid a visit to a dim sum restaurant all the way in Kanata at a place called Fortune Express Restaurant. The food was... mediocre at best. While driving along Highway 417 on my way to the Canadian Museum of Nature, I saw an XV20 generation Toyota Camry (the same generation as my XV20 generation 2001 Toyota Camry LE)... but what was important was that it had licence plates registered in New Mexico. However, as the car was registered in New Mexico, the car was likely built in Georgetown, Kentucky as opposed to Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. Eventually, I paid a visit to the Canadian Museum of Nature, which I enjoyed greatly. However, I imagine that it would have been more interesting if my cousin Tony were with me. When I left the museum, I drove by Stornoway, where the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament lives. At the time, Jack Layton was still alive. After scoping out Mr. Layton's Ottawa home, I returned to the Canadian Museum of Civilization (I went there last year), which had a new exhibit: "JAPAN: Tradition. Innovation," which featured artifacts and other things regarding Japanese culture and innovation. I took a limited amount of pictures before being told I couldn't take any. Once that museum's interest faded from my mind, I drove by the Embassy of Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Canada, which seems to have a reduced budget on actual security, as they were using a bike lock to lock their gate. Eventually, I had dinner at Swiss Chalet (the server was a jerk, so I took away her tip), before visiting an interesting grocery store associated with Loblaw Cos. Ltd.: Your Independent Grocer. That store felt like a cleaner version of Extra Foods. I also saw Bel-Air Lexus Toyota while driving around, so I had to take pictures... because it was in a neighbourhood called Bel-Air Heights (at one point, I had an idea: launch a Canadian version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with Peter Poorman being the star of the show). Before heading back to the hotel, I paid a visit to the T & T Supermarket on West Hunt Club Road. In 2009, Loblaw Cos. Ltd. acquired the chain of Chinese supermarkets. However, when I visited the store in 2010, it wasn't very obvious. This time around, it was very, very obvious. In fact, they even had a President's Choice Financial bank machine. To see all of the photos that I took on that day, please click here. Also, as for my meal at Swiss Chalet, I was with a friend named Chelsea Colborne, whom I have known since childhood. The location I visited was located at 4290 Innes Road. Sure, I could have visited a location on Bank Street that was much closer to the hotel, but would I get to drive along Highway 417 for 20 minutes just to see the Real Canadian Superstore from my table? Obviously not. So... I'm glad I made the longer drive just for kicks.

On July 4, 2011, a day that many Americans hold dear to their hearts, I was still in Ottawa, not worrying about July 4, 2011. On that day, I drove by the Embassy of the State of Kuwait, the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Embassy of Japan (I was told that I had to come back at 9:00 am to get drunk with Japan's Ambassador to Canada by a mysterious man who asked me if I needed help when I was in the area... by the way, that place had a lot of Toyota vehicles), Earnscliffe (where the British High Commissioner resides), the Embassy of France and 24 Sussex Drive. I then dropped by a Loblaws store in the Vanier area before mailing some nonsensical postcards to my friends back in Saskatoon (I called most of them "suckers"). I then paid a visit to the National Gallery of Canada (there was a somewhat-disturbing Caravaggio exhibit) before walking up to Nepean Point (it was hot outside, so it was difficult), only to see a half-naked guy leaning against one of the statues (I found it disgusting). However, the view from Nepean Point is magnificent. I also paid a visit to the Peacekeeping Monument before going for a nonsensical drive around Ottawa. At some point, I had lunch at IKEA. Eventually, I went to Rideau Hall in search of the tree that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton) had planted not long before my visit. Thanks to the guidance of some helpful employees, I found it. After visiting Rideau Hall, I dropped by the Conservative Party of Canada's national headquarters for a quick picture before driving out to Nepean because I was bored (I saw a Walmart Supercentre with only one entrance too). I continued to drive around and saw a place called Everest College, whose commercials feature someone yelling at you and demanding that you pick up the phone and call them. Eventually, I went to Milestones for dinner. The service was great, but the food wasn't so great. After that, I drove around for a bit more before visiting the Carleton University campus to visit a place called Oliver's, where Ruth Ellen Brousseau, the NDP candidate who went to Las Vegas during her 2011 election campaign, and won her riding of Berthier-Maskinongé. While at Carleton, I met a nice gentleman named Chris. After having a beer, I drove along the Rideau Canal near Carleton University before heading to St. Laurent Centre. I eventually bought stuff at Bath & Body Works. To see all of the pictures that I took on July 4, 2011, please click here. The pictures include ones of trees planted by other dignitaries that have visited Canada previously.

On July 5, 2011, my second last day in Ottawa, the first place I visited was Parliament Hill, again. This time, I walked around the grounds surrounding the buildings, instead of the inside, and I found this house for stray cats to be interesting. However, I also found that there were some senators who have good tastes in cars. I also saw a good-looking CBC reporter on Sparks Street and had an excellent burger at a place called HINTONBURGER, which was really, really small, but made one of the best burgers I've had in a very long time. I also saw the new Chinese gate that was built over Somerset Street while visiting the Kowloon Market (and other stores in Chinatown). Of course, the Kowloon Market has issues with spelling things correctly. I also discovered Mendes Toyota, as well as the Rockcliffe Boathouse on the Ottawa River, which involved a steep hill to drive down. I also enjoyed driving through the Minto Bridges. But after a long day of driving around, and being full, I managed to squeeze in another burger at The Works (the one located on St. Laurent Boulevard). While eating there, I felt like I was in Saskatoon's Eastview neighbourhood for odd reasons. However, what I enjoyed the most was the political and sports references on their menu. In the end, I had the "Roughriders Comeback."

On July 6, 2011, the last day of my nine-day vacation, I found that most tasks that I had set out to perform were essentially complete. So, what was there to do? Drive around and find things to do to kill my time. One of those things involved me attempting to meet the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs. As you know, I am a big fan of Mr. Baird, particularly during question period. However, prior to that, I drove around and eventually dropped into a Cora location for one last meal before heading back to Saskatoon, as I knew that it would be last meal at a Cora location for a very long time. After doing so, I set out to meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was at the new Ottawa Humane Society's headquarters with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Upon my arrival, I attempted to meet Mr. Baird, but was prevented from doing so by the prime minister's security team. As such, my dream of being able to meet John Baird failed to come true. I eventually went for some lunch and had some shark fin soup for the first time, ever, at a nice restaurant called Sea King Shark Fin Seafood Restaurant on Merivale Road. After eating a "small" bowl of shark fin soup and having a few dim sum items, I left the joint and wondered what I should do next. I visited a nearby XS Cargo location before noticing a sign along Merivale Road that directed motorists to the Nepean Museum. So, I decided to go there, and it was a nice little museum for the city of Nepean, before it became a part of Ottawa. Eventually, I returned to Chinatown for some last minute food, as I wanted some of the "weiner buns" that were being offered at Kowloon Market. The very last picture I would take in that city before coming home would be of a dedicated place for a fire hose or fire extinguisher within a public parking facility owned by the City of Ottawa. However, instead of an actual fire hose or fire extinguisher, someone wrote the following on the glass: "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY YOU ARE SCREWED." Eventually, I decided that it would be fun to gamble... so I did, by travelling to the Rideau Carleton Raceway. The drive was long, but fun. After losing $25 in cash, I decided to leave the place and drive around Ottawa some more, and lost track of time. Eventually, I filled the rental car's gas tank with regular gasoline from Petro-Canada on Hunt Club Road and headed towards the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport. On the way there, I noticed two construction sites that would be future sites of a Residence Inn hotel, as well as a Courtyard hotel (both by Marriott). Now that's progress! Eventually, I made it to the airport and returned the car, leaving myself only 35 minutes left to actually check-in, go through security and board my flight. The check-in process wasn't so bad, as it only took ten minutes and I was greeted by a really nice-looking WestJet employee named Angela. Then, security moved surprisingly quicker than I assumed. As I was in line, officials from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority were pulling random people from the lines as they tested them for chemicals (at least they got to skip long line-ups). Coincidentally, they were all white. Then, when it was my turn to go through the metal detectors, I had a feeling something would happen: the metal detector would sound off. I was right. Sadly, I was wearing sandals shorts and a t-shirt and had removed any metal objects I may have had on me. Coincidentally, this seems to only happen to me in Ottawa, as metal detectors have never gone off when I wore similar clothes while going through security in airports in cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton or Saskatoon. When I was pulled aside for additional screening, the handheld metal detector continuously beeped as it went around me. I was then given two options: a physical search or I can step in a full-body scanner. Being almost late, I decided to opt for the full-body scanner. Eventually, I did make it on my flight at the last minute. But as the captain was preparing for take-off to Toronto, someone felt sick and was pulled off the plane, meaning that I would potentially miss my connecting flight in Toronto to Saskatoon. As soon as I found out which gate I would need to visit upon my arrival in Toronto, I ran to the appropriate gate (C27) for my flight to Saskatoon, which was also delayed because of my previous delayed flight from Ottawa. When I arrived in Saskatoon, I was a little unhappy, as I felt like there was some unfinished business in Ottawa... but I was honestly glad to be back home, as I missed sleeping in my own bed. However, the hot weather in Saskatoon didn't exactly help. As for the weather in Ottawa, it finally rained just before I left that city, which is the type of weather I had been wanting the entire time I was there.

If there was anything I regretted during this trip, there are two things: not visiting Krispy Kreme while I was in Québec City (I assumed they had the donuts somewhere in Ottawa, based on this page) and not being able to meet the Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Aside from that, I believe my trip was a complete success. Would I return to the city if given the opportunity? Hell yes! I love that city, and would love to live there in the near future. As for Nathan, he was still in Montréal at this point, and I would continue to ask him when he would "return to Canada." If you are wondering why Nathan was in Montréal for the entire summer, it all dates back to February, when he got stranded in Montréal overnight and decided to go out. While he was out, he met some guy named Médric, and they got together and Médric agreed to come visit Nathan in Saskatoon. Eventually, plans changed and Nathan was to visit him in Montréal. The relationship soured and I guess Nathan spent the entire summer working in Montréal, like a sucker. However, his love for that city really annoyed the hell out of me. That city may be nice to visit, but I would never want to live in that city, unless someone paid me a lot of cash money (that'll never happen). And as far as annoying Facebook status updates go, this one particularly annoyed me.

From here on in, however, I won't be going into a lot of detail, unless I plan on talking about something big. So, after getting back from Ottawa, these were among the highlights in the month of July (in no particular order, and this includes news, etcetera, regardless of whether or not it was good):

I returned to work on July 8, 2011.
The StarPhoenix posted a gallery of Saskatoon's worst roads.
My cousins Ky and Tho used the "Songify" app on iOS (iPhone, iPod touch). The app turns something you would say normally into a song. So, my cousin Tho said "Tony likes Natalie," and created a song titled "Tony Likes Natalie." To listen to the final product, click here.
I watched the episode of Gene Simmons Family Jewels on A&E in which Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed visit Saskatoon.
I saw my former French 103 professor Dr. Michael Tobin (from the University of Saskatchewan) at the Real Canadian Superstore on July 22, 2011, the same day the terrorist attacks occurred in Norway. Wondering how he got to the store, I said, "I thought you didn't have a car." Dr. Tobin's response was: "I don't. My friend drove me... he's over there," before pointing to a random area of the store. To explain this nonsense, I must mention that Dr. Tobin often said during his lectures that he did not own a car and walked everywhere that he went. He also says that he refuses to board transit buses and gets rides from his friends whenever a specific place may be too far to walk to. Coincidentally, Andrew Pang finally turned 22 years old that same day.
I had deep fried ice cream for the first time at the Taste of Saskatchewan festival that happens every year in downtown Saskatoon.
I read through this interesting page provided by Best Buy in the United States.
I saw Voss water for the first time.
I reacquainted myself with Koala soda.
I was named Associate of the Month at work.
Taylor Martens returned to Saskatoon to visit his family. However, we were able to hang out that month and we saw Horrible Bosses together at Galaxy Cinemas. My favourite character in that movie will always be Jamie Foxx's character.
Saskatoon Transit employees threatened to walk off the job, but the City of Saskatoon and the union agreed to meet with a mediator.
A bunch of American CEOs urged Congress to remove existing tax breaks.
Amy Winehouse died in July.
Two grandmothers in the state of New York were the first same-sex couple to get married.
Jack Layton announced that he would be taking a leave of absence on July 25, 2011, to fight his cancer, and beat it. Unfortunately, he lost his battle on August 22, 2011.
A report confirmed something that people in Saskatoon have known for a long time: our roads stink.
While I was on vacation, I put this website on hiatus, and did a Newsfeed round-up.
I had way too many cupcakes on July 28, 2011 from The Cupcake Conspiracy.
CTV News couldn't get their facts straight.
I saw a 1997 New Flyer D40LF (9706) from Saskatoon Transit with an older paint scheme.
I really started to enjoy Hell's Kitchen.
I bought a Zune HD.

That would officially wrap up the month of July. The month of August would also be an important month.

For the month of August, at least two significant events occurred. Here are the highlights of that month (both good and bad, and not in any particular order):

I watched the episode of Murdoch Mysteries featuring Prime Minister Stephen Harper. I enjoyed his character because he was a real prime minister in real life that is playing a man who doesn't recognize Wilfred Laurier.
I earned $20 in Future Shop gift cards with their "Tapped In" promotion, where you do things that they may specify, which were either cool or odd, such as taking a picture of yourself outside of one of their stores. For each task, you would receive a certain amount of points. For every five points that you received, they would mail you a $5 gift card (up to a maximum of $20).
I went to Calgary to see my cousin Jeannette's baby Isabelle, who has grown a lot since she was born in May. That trip occurred from August 12, 2011 until August 14, 2011. There was even a party in her honour! To check out all of the pictures I took, please click here.
The Honourable Jack Layton, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, passed away during his battle with an unknown cancer (he wouldn't say, as he wanted to give hope to those who were fighting any type of cancer). Less than a month ago, he vowed to fight it, and beat it. Unfortunately, he lost that battle, and I miss him. His death affected me personally, but I cannot elaborate on this at this time.
I ate at a Harvey's location in Saskatoon for the first time in nearly seven years, as a new location opened in Lower Place Riel at the University of Saskatchewan.
The all-new 2012 Toyota Camry was unveiled.
On August 24, 2011, my three evil cousins (Ky, Tho and Tony) and I travelled all the way to the capital city of Saskatchewan, known as Regina. We would spend the day causing trouble at places such as the Saskatchewan Science Centre, both Real Canadian Superstore locations on Rochdale Boulevard and the other on Prince of Wales Drive, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, RCMP Heritage Centre, Cornwall Centre, as well as other places. Before leaving town, however, we all ate at Applebee's for the first time, and Tony drew "cannons" on his menu, but those "cannons" looked like something else... that didn't necessarily look like "cannons." To see all of the pictures I took from that nonsensical trip, please click here. The only thing I didn't get to do that day, because I forgot, was borrow some library materials in Saskatoon and return it in a public library in Regina (and then vice-versa) because... I can. I eventually did just that, but in Martensville instead of Regina. For my reasoning behind this odd venture, please click here.
On August 26, 2011, I was in the Administration Building at the University of Saskatchewan waiting for someone to sign my student loan documents. I overheard someone mention a program offered by the Government of Saskatchewan that offers a certain amount of money for graduates who reside in Saskatchewan after they receive their degree. I interrupted and told them about the Graduate Retention Program offered by the government, and explained that those who live in Saskatchewan or move to Saskatchewan qualify for a rebate of up to $20,000 of tuition fees paid by eligible graduates that choose to make Saskatchewan their home and file a Saskatchewan income tax return. So, his mother, who was also listening, asks: "Who in their right mind would want to do that?!" As much as I love Saskatchewan, I had to laugh.
Marriott International launched a smartphone app for the iPhone, BlackBerry operating system and the superior Android operating system.
August 28, 2011 was a legendary day in Saskatoon, as all elementary and high school students in Saskatoon returned to school. This day, however, was particularly important for my evil cousin Tho, who started his first day of high school.
My friend Kayla from high school was featured in a newspaper article by The StarPhoenix.
The Randy River store at The Centre Mall mysteriously closed. That store was important to me, as my friend Jesse Sayese ran the store.
Someone across the street has copied my trend of parking on your lawn.
Nathan bought a Ford Taurus SEL with a seat that pops up from the trunk that faces traffic behind the vehicle. I got my picture taken in it.
An automatic door at the Confederation Mall became a manual door, to my chagrin. Also, have you been to that mall lately? There's only one restaurant left in the food court: A&W.
My cousin Nathanial came to visit from Calgary and we went to Canada's only Fuddruckers location (I would love it if more people would open more franchises in Canada that aren't in Saskatoon, as mentioned before).
Canadians officially said goodbye to analog television.
After ending its webOS operations, as well as production of its TouchPad, the company decided to produce a limited number of additional units.
Lloyd Robertson began to prepare for his last newscast.
The Liberal Party of Canada gathered in Ottawa in an attempt to find themselves, again.
Ford and Toyota announced that they would be working together on hybrid trucks.
TD Bank Financial Group purchased MBNA Canada and would begin offering MasterCard in their selection of credit cards.
A high school student sues her school for "Wigger Day."
Some of the Chilean miners that were trapped in a mine for 69 days reunited.
Rowan Atkinson, best known as Mr. Bean, was hurt in a crash involving one of his really expensive cars.
Speculation was rampant on what would happen to Charlie Sheen's character Charlie Harper on Two and a Half Men. There were rumours that Charlie Harper would be killed off.
At one point, AT&T proposed a takeover of T-Mobile. The U.S. Department of Justice moved to block the deal.
Although this month overall was an excellent one, I was not happy with the news that was announced on August 31, 2011: Blockbuster Canada Co. would be shutting itself down after 21 years of operation. This decision was made by its court-appointed receiver, Grant Thornton Ltd.

September would be an interesting month, and would also be the month that starts a period of time I would love to forget. Here is a list of things happened in the news, and in my life, whether they were good or bad, in no particular order...

In terms of pictures, September was a somewhat interesting month. Here are some highlights of the pictures I've taken in September:

Saskatoon Transit acquired old buses from Regina Transit this year. I finally got to see one in person.
Blockbuster Canada Co.'s closing sales began that month. I took a lot of pictures, starting on September 9, 2011. On September 10, 2011, I began taking pictures of the Confederation store in Saskatoon. On September 11, 2011, I began taking pictures of closing sales at the Erindale store.. "10 for $10" sales began
I got some free stuff from this year's Campus Career Expo at school.
Burger King introduced two new poutine varieties.
I saw some "appropriate" vandalism.
I finally got to see a new 2011 New Flyer D40LF that the Saskatoon Transit acquired.
Some useless doors were finally removed from the Arts Tower at school. I thought it would be temporary, but I was wrong.
New traffic signal patterns were introduced at the intersection of 22nd Street West and Diefenbaker Drive.
I finally realized that a mysterious building that was being constructed on Confederation Drive at the Confederation Mall was going to be a McDonald's restaurant.
I got to see my cousin Duy's son Alexander for the first time.

In the news, a lot of interesting things happened in September. Here are things that particularly interested me (good or bad)...

The University of Saskatchewan signed a new contract with Pepsi, instead of renewing one they had with Coca-Cola. This left some Coca-Cola refrigerators out in the cold for a while.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's spokesman Dimitri Soudas was replaced by Toronto Star columnist Angelo Persichilli.
Minorities now make up a majority in American cities.
Grant Thornton, Blockbuster Canada Co.'s court-appointed receiver, obtained a court order to close the company's remaining 253 stores after closing 146 stores in June. This made me cry... well, sort of.
I was happy to learn that Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly would be writing a book.
NDP President Brian Topp declared his intentions to run for the leadership of the New Democratic Party of Canada in an attempt to replace the late Jack Layton. His efforts were backed by former Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow.
On the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, people who spent a few days in Newfoundland returned to give thanks to those in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Shaw Communications, after announcing that it would drop its plans to provide cellular phone services, decided that it would partner with Cisco to provide Wi-Fi services for its customers outside of the home.
Neil Patrick Harris finally received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Despite promising transparency, Québec's transport minister refused to release a document that probably shamed the province for crappy infrastructure.
FOX considered the launch of a network that exclusively airs The Simpsons.
The Conservative government named the former Ottawa city hall after John G. Diefenbaker, next to a building named after Wilfred Laurier.
The University of Saskatchewan received a $6.5 million cash money donation for new residences.
News Corp. paid $4.7 million in relation to the ongoing hacking scandal.
The Conservative government finally tabled Bill C-10: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (minimum penalties for offences involving firearms) and to make consequential amendment to another Act in the House of Commons, fulfilling a promise made in the 2011 general election that resulted in a strong, stable, national, majority, Conservative government.
The new Winnipeg Jets team finally made their debut.
The much-hated little ketchup packets are finally being redesigned.
The number of obese people in the world officially outnumbered hungry people.
Blockbuster, now owned by DISH Network Corp., introduced "Blockbuster Movie Pass" to the public. For now, it'll only be available to DISH Network Corp. subscribers for $10 a month. Lame.
Apple confirmed a "Let's talk iPhone" event, which later became an event for the introduction of the current iPhone 4S. Sadly, Steve Jobs would unfortunately die shortly after that event.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie did something sensible by deciding to veto a tax credit for that stupid show Jersey Shore.
The Government of Canada prepared to reintroduce its existing copyright legislation.
Leslie and Irene Dube donated $10 million in cash money to the University of Saskatchewan's Health Sciences Project.
Statues of Arnold Schwarzenegger were commissioned.
The first 53 of 253 Blockbuster Canada Co. stores slated to close were closed as of September 25, 2011. The remaining 200 stores closed as of 5:00 pm local time on September 30, 2011. Before store 07084 (105 Confederation Drive) closed, I talked an employee named Len, who had been working there for four years or so. I told him how much I would miss the stores, and he said it was nice to hear what I had said. To see all of the pictures of closed stores I've taken to date, please click here.
A video of an elderly couple trying to figure out how to set up their webcam became viral, after it was posted on YouTube by someone evil within their own family.
I checked out a photo gallery of really awesome interchanges.

As for my personal life, September was a month I would prefer to forget. It started off on a sad note, and ended on a somewhat happy note. When the month began, I had to contend with the fact that Blockbuster Canada Co. would be pulling the plug on itself (I eventually got some good deals at the store, including ten movies at $1.00 each, including some new releases). But, I did get a new phone... even if I had to deal with a lame courier named DHL. I also shelled out some serious cash money for a new mattress, but it was beneficial, as I now have an extremely comfortable mattress for the time being. I also bought a copy of The Breakfast Club for $3.99 after using a $1.00-off coupon at my local Blockbuster Canada Co. before Grant Thornton obtained a court order to shut down the company's remaining stores (and yes, I already explained that I miss Blockbuster Canada Co.). Then, on September 8, 2011, I learned that the television show Outsourced was cancelled. But, I did get to see my cousin Duy's son Alexander for the first time. But at some point in life, the Canadian Tire app on my phone actually came in handy when I was at the Confederation store, and the sign indicating the price for a certain item was incorrect... so I used the app's ability to scan barcodes to check the price on something. The best part of the month was the season premier episodes of How I Met Your Mother (particularly the episode when Ted ran into Victoria and the one with "Punchy's" wedding) and Two and a Half Men (even if the way they killed off Charlie Harper was lame). Not long after that, parking your Toyota Tundra on your lawn became an official trend in my neighbourhood. I also watched Lethal Weapon for the first time that month, as well as the remaining three movies by the end of that month. I even discovered footage from a videogame based on the show Full House modeled after those Street Fighter games, which looked like it could have been a huge hit. I was then mentioned in this blog update by writer Brittany Kemp from Erie, Pennsylvania. I also stumbled upon something I hadn't read in a while, which was introduced by Martin Sargent on TechTV's The Screen Savers more than years ago!

But on September 27, 2011, I announced my intentions to do something in direct contradiction to what I had been saying for the last two years ("dating is for suckers"):
By making the above aforementioned status update, I announced my intentions to ask someone out on a potential date. However, it wasn't clear to anyone... yet. The woman I had wanted to ask out was also turning 21 that very day. Throughout the day, I had tried to find the perfect opportunity at school to ask her out in my own nonsensical way. I did, however, give her a nonsensical birthday card with a nonsensical gift, but even that moment seemed impossible. After going home without actually asking her out, I decided: "Nuts to that. I'll just call her tonight." So, just before 9:00 pm on September 27, 2011, I called her and asked her if she would go out with me in my own unique-and-nonsensical way "within the next 25 years," and I was really, really nervous, as it had been a very long time since I had asked anyone out. So, when she said "Sure, we could try that." It is important to note that we were friends prior to this occurrence and/or development. So, surprised by the fact that a woman (a beautiful one, too) would even say yes to the idea of going out with me, I then made another Facebook status update, as follows, with the support of important Facebook friends:

At the time, I was quite proud of myself, as I managed to get a cool-looking woman to go out with me. So, I was confident, even if I became a sucker. However, I would later regret this task, as little did I know, things would fail to work out in less than two months and we wouldn't even be friends anymore. So, this is why I say that dating is for suckers. More about this mysterious woman can be found by clicking here.

So, if you are wondering why September is a month I'd like to forget, you now know why. The thing I disliked most about that month is the loss of Blockbuster Canada Co. Well, there's something else, but I'd rather not talk about that other thing.

The month of October was a better month, but nothing really special happened. By this time, Blockbuster Canada Co. had just disappeared from the Canadian landscape, and there would about be about 400 empty stores across Canada. But, it would also be the start of another dreadful month (to me, anyway). The cool thing, however, was that there was a provincial election in five provinces and/or territories. In Ontario, Dalton McGuinty's Liberal government was sadly re-elected with a minority government. In Newfoundland and Labrador, incumbent-after-taking-over-from-Danny-Williams premier Kathy Dunderdale's government was re-elected with a majority. In Prince Edward Island, Robert Ghiz's Liberal government was re-elected with a majority government. In the Yukon, Darrell Pasloski's Yukon Party government was re-elected with a majority government. In Manitoba, Greg Selinger and his NDP government got re-elected with a fourth majority government. And... in the Northwest Territories, where no political parties exist, Bob McLeod was chosen as the territory's premier. Basically, everyone got re-elected. Meanwhile, Conservative MP Michael Chong decided to renew his efforts to "improve" the decorum during question period. I think he should give it up, especially since question period is fine just the way that it is. But on the bright side, The Simpsons was renewed for two more years, giving the show an end after 25 years on television. My evil cousin Tho, meanwhile, turned 14 years old on October 8, 2011. Thanksgiving, however, was excellent, as I got to see some family members I don't get to see very often. I also took my cousin Tony to a Blockbuster Canada Co. store, knowing that all of their stores had closed at 5:00 pm local time on September 30, 2011. I told him that I would buy him anything he wanted within the store. In fact, I told him I was willing to buy him the entire store. Of course, by the time I got there, the store was... closed forever, and Tony... cried like a little girl. However, I believe I have taught him a valuable lesson... and that lesson is: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I also parked in the middle of parking lot to prove a pointless point. I also decided that Franklin D. Roosevelt had to be the coolest U.S. president in that country's history, as he managed to nominate eight judges to the Supreme Court of the United States as well as re-nominate a judge that had resigned... kind of like how prime ministers in Canada stack the Senate with their buddies before they retire. The only person who wouldn't do that is Prime Minister Stephen Harper (he's got way too much class to do that). But on October 17, 2011, I was on a 2008 New Flyer DE40LFR (0818), and I may have been the only one on the bus wearing sandals. I also bought cheap non-alcoholic beer at the Real Canadian Superstore at $0.98 for a six-pack. However, throughout the entire month of October, for the most part, I had problems sleeping... but I'm still not comfortable telling the entire world why, despite telling you about my life in great detail. But... my uncle, who I think is now going through a "mid-life crisis," bought a scooter. There was also an auction for most of the items that were still left within the Blockbuster Canada Co. store (store 07109) located at 1505 8th Street East, including the store's old computers and point-of-sale terminal equipment. I also watched the leaders' debate on October 25, 2011 in the lead up to the provincial election here in Saskatchewan, but it was like watching something that took place during the 1980s... and it was also incredibly boring. However, the election resulted in the Saskatchewan Party winning a huge majority government. But on October 27, 2011, I actually made it a point to tune into MTV Canada for the first time, ever, because America's favourite losers Beavis and Butt-head officially made their return to television in a television show simply titled Beavis and Butt-head. That night was a night to remember. In addition to this, however, Saskatoon Transit schedules are finally available through Google Maps as a supplement to the Saskatoon Transit's Click & Go service. And by the end of the month, four separate women had made outrageous claims of sexual misconduct against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain. He has since dropped out of the race. I also took advantage of a great deal more than once. However, one day in the Thorvaldson Building, I was eavesdropping when there were two women who were talking about their relationships. Here's a "transcript" of the conversation:

Woman #1: "I think I'm going to fly out there and meet him."
Woman #2: "How long have you guys been dating?"
Woman #1: "Three months! I can't wait... I haven't met him before!"

That situation reminded me of someone I know.

Now, in terms of Flickr pictures, I took 211 photos. To see them all, click here. But in terms of highlights, look below:

On the morning of October 1, 2011, I took pictures of all Saskatoon-area Blockbuster Canada Co. stores that had closed either on September 30, 2011, or back in June. The Lakewood Common store had closed in June, while the remaining three stores in Saskatoon closed as of September 30, 2011. For all pictures from all periods of time since the company was placed into receivership, click here.
I finally got to ride in a 2011 New Flyer D40LFR.
I bought two ultra-expensive Winter Blades from Toyota. Hey, at least they're Toyota Genuine Parts.
I drove on a temporary roadway that wasn't even open yet.
I finally discovered what "deep fried cheesecake" is all about. It was decent... not the greatest.
My friend Kojo got lame shoes from New York City. He blamed his parents.
I finally realized how stupid some of the signs at the Real Canadian Superstore are.
The intersection of Diefenbaker Drive and Fairlight Drive finally got traffic signals installed.
Nathan's parents disgraced themselves with an NDP sign. Despite the massive majority Saskatchewan Party government, Cam Broten managed to get re-elected in Saskatoon Massey Place in the November 7, 2011 provincial election.
Kojo decided to stop wearing pink shoes after being ridiculed by me.
I took pictures of how lame the Confederation Mall has become. To see all pictures to date, please click here. That set of pictures will include a picture (or more) of how an automatic door was converted into a regular door.
I "discovered" something that I hadn't really noticed in three before.
I saw another licence plate with my name printed on it.
Someone performed a useful public service by "correcting" a sign.
I went through an old high school yearbook and noticed that the only person who hasn't really changed in appearance since graduation is a guy named Willy.
The former Capitol 4 theatre in downtown Saskatoon is finally occupied.
The intersection of Clarence Avenue South and Ruth Street East in Saskatoon officially became a signalized intersection.
I saw an indoor barbecue grill endorsed by Martin Yan, whom I've never heard of.
At some point in time, I finally got a picture of Blockbuster Canada Co. store 07589 in Erindale after it closed.
The intersection of Avenue C North and Cynthia Street officially became a signalized intersection.
Someone found a really classy way to tape up their broken headlight on their Toyota Corolla.
It took two police cars from the Saskatoon Police Service to pull over a van, as it appears.
A perfectly good Toyota Highlander was disgraced by subliminal advertising.
I saw a Toyota RAV4... but more importantly, it was from Montana. This is important to me, as I had never seen a Montana licence plate prior to October 28, 2011.
McDonald's Express in downtown Saskatoon has a strict refill policy as well as a strict time restriction.
I had the best Halloween costume around.
I thought the University of Saskatchewan got rid of some useless doors. Instead, they replaced them with even more useless doors.
The NDP in Saskatchewan has no consideration for our self-interested desires, as proven by this campaign poster found at the University of Saskatchewan. The party's slogan is: "Positive Change Where You Benefit." Well, as a first-time homeowner, how would rent control benefit me? Obviously, that slogan is a huge lie.
A mysterious man that usually hangs out at the University of Saskatchewan got comfortable.

But in the news, some interesting things did happen, but in no particular order, both good and bad (remember that this is stuff I care about, and that all general news can be found on this blog):

The Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta elected Alison Redford as their new leader. She officially became the first female premier in that province's history, making the next provincial election in that province a historical one, as the premier will likely be a woman anyway, even if Ms. Redford loses, as she could be replaced by Danielle Smith.
Amanda Knox, who was convicted of murdering her former roommate in Italy, won her appeal and headed home.
Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S. Sadly, Apple CEO Steve Jobs died the very next day. A memorial was announced shortly after.
Montana decided that it would like to copy Saskatchewan's model on healthcare.
There will be an Arrested Development movie, but there will also be a return to television for a limited time.
Gene Simmons and long-time girlfriend Shannon Tweed finally got married.
The Vancouver Police Department finally recommended its first charges from the June 15, 2011 riot.
A 79-year-old woman checked out of a TownePlace Suites by Marriott after staying at the same location for ten years. I imagine she will get a lot of Marriott Rewards points.
The world's population reached 7 billion.
Prince decided that he'll perform in Saskatoon after all. He then changed his mind.
It was announced that a TV show based on the Beverly Hills Cop movies would be created. The cool part is that Eddie Murphy will come on the show now and then. Sadly, Beverly Hills Cop IV will never happen.
HP decided to stop working on its webOS software, only to change its mind.
Saskatoon Transit was finally added to Google Maps.
The Government of Canada announced the replacement of the Champlain Bridge in Montréal.
The new owners of the Winnipeg Jets discontinued the sale of older stuff.
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada, landed a sweet gig.
Israel's president Shimon Peres asked Seinfeld star Jason Alexander for advice on peace. Seriously...
Nebraska officially took steps to block the Keystone XL pipeline.
A number of Conservative MPs took part in an "It Gets Better" video campaign.
A nonsensical radio prank resulted in the handcuffing of two morning radio hosts in the Niagara region.
"Murses" began to make their mark.
U.S. President Barack Obama's teleprompter was stolen. How will he make his speeches?
The Supreme Court of Canada made an important ruling in terms of Internet links not being considered libelous.
A child got hit by a vehicle numerous times, and nobody helped.
Tim Hortons added lasagna to its menu.
The Winnipeg Jets announced a visit to Saskatoon.
It was announced that former Alberta premier Ralph Klein would be moved into a care home.
A report recommended charging for parking on Sundays in Saskatoon.
A blog revealed the last gruelling weeks of a teen's life before killing himself.
A study debunked the myths on organic farms.
Drivers in Winnipeg were greeted by funny signs.
The University of Saskatchewan will be hosting the Confucius Institute.
Those annoying "Occupy" movements began in Canada.
David Hasselhoff decided that he wanted to be in a videogame.
It's better to have an English name for the purposes of being hired. Obviously, employers won't like me.
The iOS 5 rollout brought trouble to iPhone users.
It was announced that Saskatoon will host the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
The Big Ben is tilting.
Air Canada's flight attendants were told they can't strike.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers decided to sue the Conservative government over June's back-to-work legislation.
A University of Saskatchewan student unlocked secrets of mercury.
After deciding to split its mail service from its streaming service, Netflix changed its mind.
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was chosen to star in a fourth show. This time, the show features failing hotels, rather than failing restaurants, like Kitchen Nightmares.
George Clooney told the world about his encounter with former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has since resigned.
The world was told about a beer marketed towards women.
Michael Jackson's Immortal album was announced with a November 21, 2011 release date.
A young boy got horns implanted in his head.
Late NDP leader Jack Layton's ashes were scattered in his hometown of Hudson, Québec.
The City of Saskatoon proposed an eight-year tax hike to fix up Saskatoon's roads.
A woman sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over a $0.02 charge and won.
A global "Do Not Call" list is coming!
British succession rules were changed, if you care to read about them.
A U.S. Transportation Security Administration airport screener after writing some funny stuff on a luggage slip.
After Blockbuster Canada Co. was liquidated to pay off some greedy movie studios because Blockbuster Inc. couldn't get their act together during their Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Grant Thornton Ltd. claimed they could not find a suitable buyer, the company still owed some cash money to some unsecured creditors.
Three-eyed fish really do exist.
After deciding to sue the Government of Canada, the Canadian Wheat Board faced a lawsuit from within.
David Milgaard, who exonerated for a murder, was arrested and charged with assault.
Bernard Madoff only regrets bilking his own family. As for the clients he ripped off, he could care less. Maybe it's not a bad thing he's spending life in prison.
The Conservative government introduced a bill that will add 30 seats to the House of Commons that will benefit British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and sadly, Québec.
Research In Motion is facing a lawsuit over a long BlackBerry service outage.
Raffi released a song based on Jack Layton's final letter.
The Conservative government introduced legislation to get rid of the long-gun registry.
The design of the Gordon Oakes-Red Bear Student Centre at the University of Saskatchewan was unveiled. What a waste of cash money.

Last month was certainly an interesting month... I think. Let's start off with a bunch of pictures I took, which totals 165 pictures.. Among them, there are some awesome pictures, as listed below:

I wanted to see how creepy my facial hair would be if I didn't shave for the entire month. Here is the before, "before the start" and "after" picture.
Remember when I took a picture last year of construction workers not working? As it turns out, the space they were "renovating" became a tribute to Gerhard Herzberg.
I parked in four parking spots?
I saw something really weird while travelling along College Drive/Highway 5.
Two new temporary signalized intersections to re-route traffic around Preston Avenue South and Circle Drive opened up. These intersections act as a detour around the construction site of a new interchange that will likely open in late 2012.
The Saskatchewan Party government in Saskatchewan got re-elected with a huge majority government with about 64% of the popular vote. But more importantly, NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter got defeated in his own constituency. However, it was important to me that I get a picture of the results on television.
I saw an odd elevator dial on an elevator I "discovered" behind Copy Central at the Murray Library at the University of Saskatchewan.
I discovered a "concept car:" a 2014 Nissan Patrol 4WD.
Many people in my neighbourhood didn't carefully read their garbage collection schedules. As such, a lot of people rolled their garbage container carts to the curb, only to be disappointed, as there was no garbage collection on November 9, 2011. That was the week bi-weekly pick-ups began.
I saw a Jesus action figure in St. Thomas More College.
I saw a 2011 Toyota Corolla with a licence plate that almost matches my NSID (school user name to access school services) at the University of Saskatchewan, which is hvd944. In that same day, I found my car's twin (another XV20 generation 2001 Toyota Camry LE).
I discovered that the McDonald's location on 8th Street East by Louise Avenue is getting automatic doors.
I bought a copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5.
I hung out with my traffic-signal-loving friend Ryan.
The signs from the former Blockbuster Canada Co. store in Erindale (store 07589) were removed.
For the first time, I saw a Best Buy Movie Kiosk.
I demanded my cash money from Nathan.
I received a mysterious box, which ended up being filled with baked goods.
My evil cousin Tho finally got a haircut.
Automatic doors at the former Canadian Tire store on Confederation Drive were simply tossed out. I don't like that.
I saw my evil cousin Tony at London Drugs one day. I took a couple of pictures.
I witnessed two vehicles "break the law." Click here and here for proof.
My least favourite traffic signal in Saskatoon finally got replaced.
I got free candles and air fresheners.
Someone decided to vandalize their own BMW because Libya is apparently free.
The installation of new traffic signals by Preston Crossing is now complete. However, they have yet to become operational.
Safeway wanted to keep my $5.00, apparently.
According to scale model of the University of Saskatchewan, there are giant action figures attacking our city, and more specifically the campus.
I got free block heater timers.
I bought Listerine Whitening for $0.99 (after a $5-off coupon).
My evil niece acknowledged my existence one day, but ignored me on another day.
Saskatoon Transit installed a new "stop requested" sign that announces in audio that a stop has been requested on a 2006 New Flyer D40LFR.
I saw a really cool sign in the Spinks Addition of the Thorvaldson Building at the University of Saskatchewan.
I got more than one free block heater timer from SaskPower. I rarely plug in my car in the winter, so this free item wasn't really useful, especially with the warmer weather Saskatchewan has experienced in recent weeks. So... I guess I just like free stuff, even if I have no use for the free stuff.

As for the news, there are some interesting highlights (that matter to me). Here they are, both good and bad, and in no particular order.

Remember that devastating fire that destroyed most of Slave Lake, Alberta? As it turns out,arson may be the main cause.
According to Keith Olbermann, Toronto mayor Rob Ford is the "worst person in the world."
Cancer was the leading cause of death in 2008.
Former Greek prime minister George Papandreou decided to hold a referendum in relation to the debt crisis that plagues Greece. He eventually resigned.
Toyota Motor Corp. began production at its new plant in tiny Blue Springs, Mississippi.
Google's superior Android operating system is now running on approximately 52% of the world's smartphones.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission made an interesting ruling regarding the usage of usage-based billing in Canada. I could care less.
Economist Mario Monti became Italy's newest prime minister after Silvio Berlusconi resigned. I'll miss hearing about him on the news.
Local celebrity Bob Hinitt died at the age of 86.
The Liberal Party of Canada launched its "revival" plan. Good luck to them.
Former Calgary mayor Dave Bronconnier became Alberta's temporary trade envoy in Washington.
Toyota Motor Corp. promised that its fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHV) will be available to consumers in 2015, the same year Canadians are expected to go to the polls during the next federal election, unless the government finally becomes a dictatorship and Stephen Harper becomes the supreme monarch.
Blockbuster, L.L.C., or "New Blockbuster" as it is now known, a shell of the former Blockbuster Inc. (now BB Liquidating Inc.), is now making money, after DISH Network Corp. bought Blockbuster Inc.'s assets.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, best known as Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, is against the Keystone XL pipeline, and is therefore against job creation in her country.
Apple finally decided to release a fix for its iOS 5 issues.
Julian Assange finally lost his extradition battle.
Tim Hortons introduced its lame $2 latte.
The expansion of the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport was finally approved.
Foul-mouthed NDP MP Pat Martin swore at people on Twitter. He should resign. Don't believe me? He also told someone to eat his shorts.
To avoid a government shutdown, Congress had to determine whether or not pizza is a vegetable.
Someone's iPhone wasn't working, so that person called 911.
Former write-in candidate for Arizona's governor was heartbroken by a dating scam.
Regis Philbin said "good day" after hosting talk shows for 28 years.
UBC offered special degrees to Japanese-Canadians who were placed in internment camps during World War II.
Regis Philbin made an appearance on Beavis and Butt-head, replacing Beavis.
Moving the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg was a good idea.
Former Saskatoon mayor Henry Dayday thinks the City of Saskatoon is spending too much cash money, and is considering running for mayor again.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's Chief of Staff Garry Keller is going public in search of a kidney donor.
The spoof boy-band 2gether might be coming back?
Best Buy is closing its stores in the UK.
BMW and Toyota Motor Corp. are working together. Toyota also unveiled a really cool concept car. The company also celebrated 25 years of manufacturing in Canada.
Dunder Mifflin products are now available outside of the show it's featured on.
"Occupy" squatters in Montréal were finally removed. Meanwhile, the tents in Winnipeg mysteriously burned down. At some point, squatters in Ottawa and Toronto were finally removed.
Despite having tear gas thrown in Parliament, South Korean MPs voted to accept a free trade deal with the United States.
Arrested Development is indeed returning to... Netflix?
Two women stole too much liquor from an ASDA store and got help stuffing it in their car's trunk. Then, they ran out of gas and had to push their car to the nearest gas station. They failed, especially since they tried it again.
Bob Rae was named "Parliamentarian of the Year." Things were more exciting when John Baird won that distinction.
Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden were booed at a NASCAR event.
Because kids are getting fatter, Transport Canada had to come up with new rules regarding the use of car seats in vehicles.
Chaos ensued in Indonesia because of a... BlackBerry launch?
Someone wrote a letter to the editor I actually agree with.
It was announced that the Tim Hortons in Kandahar will be closing. That's a shame...

Overall, the month of November wasn't a bad month, if you exclude the last two weeks of the month. For starters, it was snowing on November 1, 2011, and I was still wearing sandals, so I was proud of that. I also took advantage of this deal more than once. But more importantly, my cousin Jenny had her first baby, after being told that she would never be able to have kids. She gave birth to a baby girl named Cadee on November 7, 2011. The only problem is that she lives in Alabama, and I refuse to ever visit that state. In fact, November 7, 2011 was overall, an excellent day. On that day, Conrad Murray was found guilty in connection with the death of Michael Jackson and the Saskatchewan Party government got re-elected with a massive landslide majority government. I also managed to write a decent 10-page paper for my POLS 364: International Terrorism class, even if I wrote the paper one night before the due date. I wrote the paper about the rise and future potential-fall of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, and even compared the terrorist organization to Blockbuster's rise during the 80s and 90s and its fall from grace in recent years. But, another important development that occurred the was the destruction that had occurred on the lawn of Nathan's parents, who proudly displayed a contagiously-disgraceful lawn sign supporting Cam Broten, the NDP candidate wanting to be re-elected in the constituency of Saskatoon Massey Place during the November 7, 2011 Saskatchewan provincial election that resulted in a massive majority government for the Saskatchewan Party. Sadly, he got re-elected. Prior to the destruction, the original sign that was at the house had already been vandalized by some punk(s). Conveniently, this destruction was caught on video, as shown below... Sure, my metallic grey XV20 generation 2001 Toyota Camry LE can be seen in the video, but that's just coincidental... so you can just ignore that.

Now, also in November, I bought a copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 11.5, which helped me compose a good part of this really long blog update that isn't anywhere close to being over. I also hung out with my traffic-signal-loving friend Ryan Harder for the first time. During that same weekend, however, I had to travel to and from Willowgrove three times in under 24 hours. And despite getting a good night's rest, I felt very grouchy when I woke up, and even made a point about it on Facebook:

Through one of the comments, however, I learned that the "mean streets" of College Park neighbourhood in Saskatoon is filled with nothing "ghetto Vietnamese people and Ghanaians left and right." If that is true, I should move to that neighbourhood, as I am Vietnamese, and would probably fit right in.

But on November 14, 2011, I made an important discovery: I have a favourite tire brand, and that brand is Michelin. It will remain that way until Toyota Motor Corp. starts making tires... then I'd just get Toyota Genuine Parts when it comes to tires. Now, what I found funny was this article that explained how a bunch of kids created their own version of To Catch a Predator in an attempt to lure an actual predator, just to humiliate them. At some point during the month, however, I started to listen to 2NE1, despite suggestions to do so as early as four years ago. But as of November 23, 2011, my mom got into the business of impersonating me. Although it only happened once, it quickly got out of control as of that moment. On November 21, 2011, I attended the funeral of a gentleman named Clive Ebanks, who had died from complications from liver cancer. What bothers me about his death is that I talked to him just less than eight hours before his death, and he said he was feeling "fine." In fact, he had told me that he planned on asking out a woman that he really liked (sadly, that woman will never know how he felt about her). That just makes things worse, and really scares me, as we all know someone who has been affected by some sort of cancer. As for Clive's Facebook profile, he never had one. Why? In 2009, when I called him up, he said that "Facebook is for hipsters and white people." It would be at least two years later before I knew what the term "hipster" even referred to. On November 22, 2011, I returned to school after skipping for a day. On November 23, 2011, someone I asked out back in September informed me that she was seeing someone now, and I overreacted (not by yelling) and asked her who she was seeing. When she said that it didn't really matter, I acted strangely for two days... and on November 25, 2011, we both (more like her) decided that it was best to stop being friends altogether, and we went our separate ways, and the timing could not have been any worse. Although I felt "angry" that she decided to end any sort of affiliation with me, with the exception of school-related issues, I felt upset, and somewhat sad. But now, I have moved on from that friendship, and sadly, any feelings I had towards her, even as a friend, have now been replaced with feelings of resentment.

On November 27, 2011, exactly eleven years since the last time the Liberal Party of Canada won a majority government in Canada, I was writing a 14-page paper for my POLS 261: Introduction to International Politics class. Thankfully, the professor had extended the paper twice, and I managed to get a "decent" mark (one over 50%). And on November 30, 2011, I wrote an in-depth article for University of Saskatchewan students on how to access your list of classmates through the old PAWS Course Tools software. As of this school year, the school has switched to Blackboard Learn as a replacement for Course Tools. You will be able to see class lists only if your instructor has enabled the feature that allows you to send emails to all student users. For the most part, most instructors have, but some have made it a point to not enable the feature. As such, the article shows you how to gain access to that list of classmates/members through the old Course Tools software if your professor has not enabled the email feature within Blackboard Learn. The article was mentioned by The Sheaf, but to negative feedback, as it appears.

Well, that is all for the month of November. The part I dislike about this month was that I lost two friends (one I'll never see again, and one I will see... again).

Well, my recap of the month of November is done, which means that I can talk about December, which means this blog update is almost done... not.

For the month of December, not a lot of things have happened between the beginning of the month and today, December 29, 2011. So, we'll start off with the pictures I've taken so far this month. The following are the highlights of this month's pictures, so far (both good and bad):

I saw some interesting graffiti.
I saw a Subway location carrying the wrong beverage choices.
I found a reason to visit the Real Canadian Superstore at between 12:01 am and 6:00 am. I then visited the store located at 2901 8th Street East after 12:01 am on a Saturday morning. It's usually not worth visiting at that time. But on the bright side, they did find an unconventional way to fix a problem with an automatic sliding door: add another sensor.
I took more pictures of how lame the Confederation Mall has become, as well as its surroundings. Check them out.
I bought an important book in relation to How I Met Your Mother.
The Wildwood McDonald's location closed for a period of time. I like how useless their fencing was.
The intersection of 11th Street West at Dundonald Avenue and Circle Drive opened up again in all directions. Some traffic signals were rearranged.
Someone made themselves a cool pair of shorts.
I got a picture of the automatic sliding doors at the McDonald's location on 8th Street East located by Louise Avenue.
A useless traffic signal was installed at 12th Street East and Broadway Avenue.
II got a new credit card, which features the exact same number as my previous one. The only difference was that my new card features the University of Saskatchewan logo.
I sat inside an old Regina Transit bus for the first time.
I got my hands on a new $100 Canadian polymer bank note.
I saw the coolest writing at school, ever.
I saw a really long driveway.. If you replaced the BMW with a Toyota, the picture would be perfect.
I bought too many bottles of NOS Energy Drink for my own good, because of a specific coupon offer.
I saw a really funny sign in the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan by room 2C19.
Mac's has really cool milkshake blending machines.
It's sad that signs like this have to be posted.
My friend from elementary school was hard at work.
I received a number of "dangerous" greeting cards.
My evil cousin Tho wears glasses.
I saw a really useless iPad product at Future Shop.
I saw a huge cart full of candy at 50% off.
I saw some old signs at the Real Canadian Superstore that you won't find at new or newly-renovated stores anymore.
The old Canadian Tire store on Confederation Drive is still slowly being transformed. The store moved across the street to the Confederation Mall.
My punk cousin parks on people's lawns now.
One of my favourite traffic signals recently died..
Burger King started selling thicker fries.
I borrowed stuff in Saskatoon from the Saskatoon Public Library. Then, I went to Martensville to return those aforementioned items, because I can. I then borrowed stuff from their branch of the Wheatland Regional Library, and will be returning the items in Saskatoon... because I can.
Christmas Day came and went... and there was little snow, just the way I liked it.
My cousins look funny in 3D glasses. Click here and here for proof.
I bought a Blu-ray player.
The Preston Crossing Walmart doesn't like exploding pop cans.
The "door crashers" at the Real Canadian Superstore were obviously no match for the Gyro Tech doors they installed in 2010.
My evil cousin actually looks somewhat cute as of this week..
Canada Post officially recognized my "driveway" today.

When it comes to the news, a lot of things happened this month too. Here is my list of highlights from the beginning of this month up until today (the stuff I care about), December 29, 2011:

What would you do if you were a woman who didn't have enough cash money for meals? Yougo out with lots of people for free food.
I plan on mailing my Christmas cards to Christmas Island next year before they get processed.
A dog managed to shoot someone in the buttocks.
Toyota and BMW are now working together in developing a greener car battery.
A woman who "kidnapped' her daughter was arrested after 18 years of being on the run.
Toyota, which earned a five-star crash rating from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration on their 2012 Toyota Camry, decided to export the U.S.-made Toyota Camry to South Korea, instead of from Japan, which would make more sense to me. In fact, the car also received a recommendation from Consumer Reports. Speaking of the Toyota Camry, I would buy this car for kicks if I had $1.7 million.
Steven Spielberg says another Jurassic Park movie is on the way.
Sometimes, stairs can get you somewhere faster. That's not going to stop me from using the elevator.
The United States Postal Service is lowering its delivery standards.
A man ordered a prostitute, but the prostitute that came to his place turned out to be his daughter.
Herman Cain suspended his presidential campaign, officially breaking my heart. Meanwhile, one of his rivals received an interesting endorsement.
The Conservative government's tough-on-crime legislation finally passed.
Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came and went.
Japan apologized to Canada's war prisoners during World War II.
Coca-Cola moved its formula for the first time in 86 years.
The "Occupy Calgary" squatters were finally removed.
Kid Rock supports Mitt Romney.
A revamp of Saskatoon.ca is moving ahead. In fact, the City of Saskatoon is looking for focus group participants. This comes as a time when Saskatoon's population is about to reach a record of 234,000. The Saskatoon Field House, however, celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Karl Lagerfeld claims that he owns 20 to 30 iPads and keeps them with him at all times.
It is possible to use a lot of coupons at once in Canada.
The Government of Canada finally pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol.
Ten-digit dialing is now possible for SaskTel customers.
Once appropriate legislation passes, elementary and high school students in Saskatchewan will be starting each school year after the Labour Day weekend, as opposed to before the weekend.
Cops in Florida shut down a swingers' club located inside a home.
Cops seized $45,000 in gift-wrapped pot.
Canada's oldest person has died.
Google Chrome has become the world's most popular browser.
Saskatchewan's population has reached another high.
Adult services in Saskatoon will have to be licenced.
Former cabinet minister got a sweet UNESCO gig.
Microsoft Corp. will no longer be at CES after 2012.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's book about hockey is set to be released in 2012.
As it turns out, there is a gene link between breast cancer and heart disease.
A woman that got shot four times is expected to survive.
It's official! The House of Commons will be getting 30 more seats.
By this time next year, airlines will have disclose the full cost of airfare in their advertising.
Dr. Ilene Busch-Vishniac will be the next president of the University of Saskatchewan.
For a third straight year, "whatever" is the most annoying word, ever.
Britney Spears is once again engaged.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il finally died.
Jay-Z is already planning on being overprotective.
McDonald's cheeseburgers can remain unchanged a year later.
For the first time in a while, Billboard's "Top 5" has four Canadian musicians.
DISH Network Corp. is looking to expand its BLOCKBUSTER Movie Pass offering to non-DISH Network Corp. subscribers.
Saskatoon is still one of Canada's most dangerous cities.
Steve Carell is going to be Fat Tony's lackey.
Rogers will be closing 40% of its Rogers Plus stores.
An American judge has considered overturning a ban on same-sex marriage.
The "Barefoot Bandit" has been sentenced to 7+ years in prison.
Dingoes really do eat babies.
Alberta is considering a tax hike on smokes and booze.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is serious about shipping oil elsewhere.
AT&T, which agreed to take over T-Mobile earlier this year, has abandoned their bid.
There's a reason I shop online for electronics for Boxing Day.
Sears Holdings Corp. is closing 120 U.S. stores.
Mel Gibson is giving up $425 million in cash money to settle his divorce.
Someone was actually crazy enough to steal a truckload of the crappy BlackBerry PlayBook devices. As it turns out, the people were crazier than I thought.
A man sitting on a toilet shot himself with a gun.
An Ontario man who wasn't satisfied with an apology he received after getting hit by a shopping cart decided to call 911.
December 30, 2011 will cease to exist in Samoa.
SaskTel's rates are about to increase.
A Regina man has been mailing himself cocaine.
Someone in Saskatoon broke into someone's car to steal a purse. Then, he relaxed and "had a smoke."
Helena Guergis is back on the news, as she attempts to sue the government and the Conservative Party of Canada.
Soon, it'll be easier to get to the United States for NEXUS travellers.
Air travellers really should be turning off electronic devices when told to do so.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi from that stupid Jersey Shore show may soon end up in court, but not for the usual reasons, whatever they may be.
A Canadian man reunited with his Scottish birth family. This story is quite amazing!

Well, this month has been interesting, despite not having to go to school for long. Now, it's time to talk about my life in as-close-to-excruciating-detail as possible. On December 1, 2011, students such as I were asked to evaluate our POLS 248: Foundations of American Government instructor. I, as well as two other students, gave him high marks on every aspect of his teaching. One student actually even said the following about our professor: "I trust (professor's name) with my life. If he were to tell me the sky were green, I'd probably believe him. He's the only reason I wake up every morning." I agree with that statement. December 2, 2011 was our last day of classes at the University of Saskatchewan.

Just after 12:00 am on Saturday, December 3, 2011, I went to the Real Canadian Superstore to buy specific "door crasher" items. I even had food from Burger King at 2:02 am. Later that day, my friend shared this video with me, which I found hilarious:
Although the idea may be cool, I'd rather not have one of Mr. Obama. But if I were to have one of Mr. Obama, I'd try to grow an afro, and then shave the Chia head in this manner:
On December 4, 2011, the all-new episode of The Simpsons featured a reference to King of the Hill. On December 5, 2011, I wrote my final exam for my POLS 225: Canadian Public Administration class. For the next few days, I procrastinated until I wrote the final exam for my POLS 261: Introduction to International Politics class. That exam was a little harder than I had hoped.

Earlier this month, I was given a link to an interesting video in which a "Wall Street CEO" gives a bunch of "Occupy" squatters the "smackdown," as displayed in the video below:
Between the last exam and the next one, I basically did nothing but watch movies and procrastinate until my next final exam, which would be on Friday, December 16, 2011. Between that time, I did get to spend some quality time with my evil cousins. However, once final exams did roll around, eventually, I would write my POLS 364: International Terrorism on December 16, 2011 and my POLS 236: Classical Medieval and Renaissance Political Thought final exam on December 17, 2011. All political studies students at the University of Saskatchewan must take the following classes in order to receive their degree (as well as other courses for credit):

The political theory courses listed above are a nightmare. Sadly, we political studies students are forced to take them at some point.

So, once thatPOLS 236 class came to an end for me, I was quite happy. What I found odd, however, was that the final exam for my POLS 236 class was in the Engineering Building. As for my final exam on Friday, December 16, 2011, I waited for my friend Larry Chen, who decided to ditch me in favour of another friend... so I waited around for an hour for absolutely nothing, and that really ticked me off.

During the weekend (December 17-18), two people died. First, we had the death of Václav Havel,who I consider to be a hero. Then, there's Kim Jong-il, whose passing I hope brings positive change to North Koreaonce and for all. On December 19, 2011, I started mailing out nonsensical letters and pictures to select friends and family members in addition to greeting cards I may have already mailed. To see what I mailed out,click here.

On December 20, 2011, I wrote my last final exam for this semester. The class I wrote the exam for wasPOLS 248: Foundations of American Government. By 11:00 am, I was free from final exams, and I guess that's the feeling Western Canadian farmers will soon have,when they get marketing freedom. Later that day, I paid to have my XV20 generation 2001 Toyota Camry LE's regular maintenance performed, and that hurt me, financially... but was required. This same day was the last day of school for those annoying elementary and high school students around Saskatoon.

Not long after the last of my final exams, my evil cousins came over and made my house smell funny, temporarily. I don't remember much from December 22, 2011. But on December 23, 2011, which was alsoFestivus, I drove out toMartensville to take advantage of the flexibility provided by the Saskatchewan Information & Library Services Consortium, as explained here. Meanwhile, on Christmas Eve, I took my mom out for dinner after work... and we went to Red Lobster, thanks to a gift card that was provided to me by my workplace. Before that, I mailed my friend Jesse Finnman in Calgary some gifts as a housewarming gift (ketchup, beans and "overpriced" liquor). For the ketchup and beans, I was even considerate enough to get him gift receipts. As for the "overpriced" liquor, I bought him a bottle of wine for $12.99 at a liquor store owned by the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA). Eventually, I did my Boxing Day shopping at Future Shop... online. The only thing I bought was thisAndroid tablet computer.

December 25, 2011, known as Christmas Day, was a day I spent at my home, enjoying the things that I don't usually get to do: mindlessly surfing the Internet and going through a stack of movies that I should have watched when I first bought them (particularly the ones that I bought at Blockbuster Canada Co.'s store closing sales).

As for Boxing Day, I went to a number of places, with my mom. We started off with Sears (which wasn't as busy as previous years), before heading to the Real Canadian Superstore. At the Real Canadian Superstore, I bought myself aBlu-ray player for $88.00, a flash drive for $5.00 that came with 50 free prints from PhotoLab.ca, and a DVD copy of Zookeeper. We also made stops at the Saskatoon Co-op Marketplace, Walmart, Canadian Tire and Costco. Eventually, I spent some time at home, before going out with my evil cousins Ky and Tho to see a hilarious movie:A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. What's cool about the movie was that it was in 3D. But more importantly, the movie was hilarious. Of course, with 3D glasses, there's always the possibility for fun, as seenhere and here.

As for Tuesday, my cousins came over to my house,and stunk it up, again. However, they didn't get to spend much time at my house.

Yesterday, I spent most of my time at home, except for that time I went toBurger King. Then, I spent some more time at home before meeting my old friend Jennifer (from high school) at theMall at Lawson Heights. We talked for almost two hours over coffee, and it was great to be able to actually hang out with her for the first time since Halloween... in 2010?! Yeah... that's how sad it has been. I'm glad we did get to see each other again though, as there was a lot to catch up on. She told me that I would get along with our friend Carmen's boyfriend, Richard, whom I have yet to meet. She explained that Richard believes schools should be privatized, and that he has no solution for those who cannot afford it. By the sounds of it, he may be more conservative than I seem to be. Eventually, I ran some errands last night after hanging out with Jennifer, and I hope we can do that again sometime soon. It was an excellent time. In fact, she brought her had with her because she didn't have enough time to drive him home after having lunch with him. So, he left us alone and said: "Well, I'm going to go do some monkey business and you guys can do your own thing." Out of my friends' parents, her dad is one of my favourite. My other favourite is Nathan's mom, since I am able to make fun of her so freely without any serious consequences. Eventually, I spent the rest of my free time working on this blog update before watching a whole lot of television.

As for today, I spent all of my free time working on this blog update, except for that awesome lunch I had today: boneless chicken wings, cheesecake and a can of Coca-Cola. Aside from working on this blog update, I was happy to see that Canada Post recognizes how important it is topark on my lawn. Earlier tonight, I watched a new episode of Beavis and Butt-head on MTV.

Well, that's it for today...

Now, it's time for forward-looking statements...

This year has certainly been an interesting one. We've seen change in countries like Greece, Italy, Egypt and Libya. But as for me, I'd say this year was a neutral year, even if I lost some things and people that were important to me. Things I am happy about that occurred in 2011 include the election of a majority government for the first time in 11 years, as well as my return trip to Ottawa and Montréal (as well as my visit to Québec City). What I didn't like about this year was that Blockbuster Canada Co.disappeared, I got some lingering bad news (sometimes, I cry when I'm alone, or when I'm trying to sleep), I lost a couple of friends and had my heart broken. However, 2011 was an important year too, as I started to get into How I Met Your Mother, as I watched the first six seasons in under two weeks. As for the current season, Ted Mosby had stopped believing in himself, and I feel the same way. In fact, I've stopped believing in myself in recent months. This applies to my love life, and anything else in my life right now. Given the opportunity to pursue love again in a serious relationship, I would be open to it, if anyone is actually willing to date a crazy guy like me, whose odd interests include traffic signals, transit buses and automatic doors. As for the show, the latest episode revealed that Robin Scherbatsky could not have children, which made it mildly depressing. At this time, watching this show is one of the few things I look forward to at the beginning of every week, as the current events that occur on that show seem to strongly reflect my own life... and that's kind of scary, and sad at the same time. However, that show is rather interesting and funny. We've all seen the characters mature over the course of the show... Barney Stinson is no longer the womanizer we're used to seeing. Meanwhile, Ted Mosby became the youngest person in New York to design a skyscraper, but his quest for the perfect woman is driving him crazy, as he can't seem to find the woman that's right for him... yet. Marshall and Lily haven't changed by much, but they are having a baby. And as for Robin, it's obvious that she has feelings for Barney, who broke up with Nora for her, only to see her reject him for Kevin (Kal Penn). At this point, it's hard to predict where the show will go, but I look forward to its return on January 2, 2012. For some spoilers of the next episode,click here.

As 2011 comes to a forced end in a number of days, I would like to take this opportunity to say the following, in case I don't make another blog update by the end of Saturday: happy new year! Yes, I am serious when I say that I hope you have a happy new year! Although 2011 was a good year (I guess), I am hoping for a better year in 2012. In addition, although I was absent for a considerable period of time, this recent term of classes (Term 1) at theUniversity of Saskatchewan has been one of my best (especially since I had two classes with my friend Kojo). For the first time in my university career, I have managed to obtain a final grade of over 90%, and I am extremely proud of that fact. However, because of the ups and downs of 2011, I am ready to put this past semester of school, and to a lesser extent, this entire year, behind me. I look forward to a new semester at school, even if my friend Kojo won't be in any of my classes (he is a good friend and I enjoy being in the same classes with him, especially when we engage in 'friendly racism'). Although the last few months have been tougher than I'd like them to be, I do value my friendships very much. Over the past few months, Kojo, Nathan, Jennifer, Larry Chen, David Couchman (and someone I'm no longer friends with) have been extraordinarily helpful to me by providing me with support that I have never dreamed of, and I will never be able to thank them enough. They have been there for me when I needed someone to talk to. They have been there for me when I needed help, physically... and they have been there for me when I needed notes from classes/lectures that I have missed. Again, I will never be able to thank them enough for the help that they have provided me with, but I do have one thing to say to them: thank you very much for your concerns. It's also times like this where I truly appreciate family members, particularly my mom, despite the fact that I say that she's "evil." Although she may be "evil," especially when she calls me a "bastard," or impersonates me, I do love my mom very much. As for Kojo, he is currently in Mexico, and told me a fascinating story that may involve racial profiling. Coming from him, those types of stories are usually quite hilarious, and I look forward to seeing him again upon his return to Canada, where he belongs.

It is now past midnight as I finish this really long blog update, so please replace anything that happened "today" (December 29, 2011) with an imaginary "yesterday," as if it technically happened yesterday, since it is now December 30, 2011, and no longer December 29, 2011. If you've managed to read any part of this really long blog update, or the entire blog update, like some people do, I'd like to thank you for reading this really long blog update, as it would be my first blog update in more than six months. Anyway, I am looking forward to 2012, as well as a new semester of school. I hope that you have a happy new year, and I would like to extend my best wishes to you in 2012. Please don't drink and drive, and I hope you have fun on New Year's Eve. As for me, I am forced to work on New Year's Eve. As of today, however, I was invited to a New Year's Eve party that I wouldn't mind attending. The only problem is that... it's in Regina, and I work until 11:00 pm on December 31, 2011 here in Saskatoon. Anyway, I hope you have an excellent 2012... and remember, DON'T GET RIPPED BY THE RIPTIDE!

BREAKING NEWS: Reverend Huy Dang to "Cause Trouble" a Second Time in Ottawa

2011-06-27T12:53:00.000-06:00

Hello to my loyal readers, if there are any out there in the first place. It has been at least a month since my last blog update, so you can expect this blog update to be incredibly long as well.

First off, I'd like to move directly to the rants about things that have occurred within that last month. Of course, that doesn't always necessarily mean that it will be all about rants.

First off, I think that it's great that the Honourable Andrew Scheer is now the Speaker of the House of Commons. He is the youngest Speaker in Canadian history, and is also the first for a Member of Parliament from Saskatchewan. In addition, he looks way too friendly, which makes him a perfect candidate for the position.

Now, speaking of Parliament, I am still happy that the Conservative government is now a strong-stable-national-majority-Harper-Conservative (the Harper part was added by Steven Blaney, and I enjoyed it) government. However, that brings up the concern of Brigette DePape, who insulted Parliament and lowered the reputation of the Senate (she also violated her oath to the Queen while disgracing Parliament, making her an absolute disgrace). Of course, people like her are a fad, and shouldn't be taken seriously. I will say, however, that her actions were completely inappropriate. For those of you who don't know what she did, she was a Senate page that interrupted the Throne Speech earlier this month on June 3, 2011. Later on television, she claimed she performed such disgraceful actions because she believes the Conservative government's actions and policies are a detriment to her (and I guess mine, too) generation, without going into any specifics. I don't agree with that, but you should already know why by now. But speaking of politics, I must bring up a man who is no longer involved in politics: Michael Ignatieff. I am not saying anything bad about him now, as he is no longer in politics. However, the world of politics does go by a lot quicker than we'd like, especially during a minority government. In late 2008, Dr. Ignatieff became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. In the spring of 2009, he officially became their leader (although the convention from that year just affirmed his leadership) and at one point brought the Liberal Party of Canada above the Conservative government's poll numbers for short period of time. But anyway, my point is that politics does move fast, and during the two-and-a-half years that he was leader, it seems like a really short blur that didn't seem very long. And within a short-but-seemingly-long day, his fate was decided in less than 24 hours. And within 24 hours of such a crushing defeat, the Liberal leader became the former Liberal leader. And of course, this brings up the fact that the Conservative government won a majority government with only 40% of the popular vote. And with this, those on the left will always complain that 60% of Canadians did not vote for the Conservative Party of Canada and they achieved a majority government because Canada has an "archaic" first-past-the-post electoral system. Well, it's the same system that gets the NDP elected in provincial governments and it's the same system that pushed the NDP to the status of Official Opposition. So, the only reason they appear to be complaining is because their favourite party didn't get to form government. Obviously, it must be pretty lonely on the left side of the political spectrum. Canada's system works, and allows Canadians to quickly throw out unpopular governments. Those people on the left should stop complaining.

This brings up Michael Moore, who supposedly offered disgraced Senate page Brigette DePape a job. Although his movies and lame documentaries often highlight the supposed "faults" of capitalism, I still feel as if he is a capitalist himself. As such, I cannot take him seriously. However, when Mr. Moore said that he doesn't think Canada's government should be a copy of the American government, I feel the same way. The current U.S. government likes to spend... a lot of money. Meanwhile, Canada has one of the greatest-performing economies in the world right now. So, why would we want to copy the U.S. government and their policies when it comes to the economy? But speaking of politics, I am glad that Budget 2011 contains provisions to eliminate per-vote subsidies for all political parties, even if it is not going to be phased out immediately. Taxpayers should not be funding parties they don't support. Yeah, his government is a big-spending, big-government-type government, and Canadians did prevent a Canadian government of becoming the current American government.

On Thursday, June 30, 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will be visiting Canada on a nine-day tour of our beautiful country. Usually, all royals meet the prime minister at some point during their trip, and I'm glad it's going to be Prime Minister Stephen Harper... and not Jack Layton.

Well, that's enough about politics for now...

As you know, I've been watching a lot of How I Met Your Mother recently. As the show began, the Barney Stinson character, played by Neil Patrick Harris, has always been a womanizing, and entertaining character. But as the show progresses, a more sensitive side of Mr. Stinson becomes visible, especially in season 6, in the episode titled "Legendaddy." In this episode, Mr. Stinson has dinner at his father's house, after reuniting with him for the first time in 30+ years. This episode highlights Mr. Stinson's childhood without a father. In the show, he wishes his dad were a womanizing, trouble-making "bad boy." Instead, he is "some lame suburban dad," according to Barney. When asked why he was so upset about that, Mr. Stinson asks why his father wasn't there for him when he was young. That episode really bugged me, and it bugged me for days... mainly because I can relate to the situation. However, the best part of the episode was when Barney described his dad as "legen-daddy" and said that the man "is a god." Now, the only thing I wonder is... what is a rotating Vietnamese shame wheel? Apparently, I'm not ready to know what it is. In addition, this website says the same thing. What I also like about the show is that websites mentioned are actually on the Internet as well. Other websites include canadiansexacts.org and tedmosbyisajerk.com.

As you know by now, June 15, 2011 was an interesting day, I guess. After the Vancouver Canucks failed to win the Stanley Cup, rioters essentially took over the beautiful city of Vancouver, which has some pretty awesome traffic signals. Cars were overturned and burned, businesses were looted (automatic doors were damaged) and more. Thankfully, I didn't see images of a Toyota being destroyed. I did, however, see a Toyota RAV4 sitting undamaged, as a car almost directly behind it was burning. What I find funny about the situation is that websites and Facebook groups have been set up to ridicule the rioters, showing their faces in pictures and providing links to their Facebook profiles. Some websites include vancouverriots.com and a Facebook page titled "Vancouver Riot Pics: Post Your Photos." That whole situation was... sad. However, what I found funny was that some people were turned into the police by their own friends and family members. Meanwhile, perhaps Vancouver doesn't really deserve a hockey team. Maybe their NHL team should be moved to a city that would truly appreciate it... like Saskatoon, or Hamilton.

Not long ago, the Government of Saskatchewan decided to cancel its proposal to build a football stadium in Regina, and I couldn't be happier. Projects like that should be funded by private companies, and not taxpayers. Of course, that reminds me as that Quebec City will eventually be getting a new arena to replace the aging Colisée Pepsi. However, I don't live in Quebec, so I don't care, expect for the fact that they are still receiving equalization payments from the Government of Canada. So, in a way, all taxpayers in Canada are paying for the stadium, regardless of how you put it. Meanwhile, the city hopes that an NHL team will someday return to the city, and it has been cited as one of the reasons to build a new stadium, even though it's not a guarantee that an NHL team will return to the city. So, why build a new one? I understand that it will be used for more than a hockey arena, but I still believe it should be funded by private companies, and not by taxpayers. In fact, Conservative MP Maxime Bernier provides better arguments for my point of view than me. But on another note, I'm glad an NHL team will be returning to Winnipeg. Now, the only thing I find lame is that the Winnipeg Jets name will be used again. Sure, that may be good for fans and easier to market. I was hoping that the team would be named the "Winnipeg Wheaties," as it sounds funny. But at the end of the day, Winnipeg has an NHL team once again, and I could care less if they are able to reuse the Winnipeg Jets name. Besides, when the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary, it simply became the Calgary Flames. What's sad is that this is the second hockey team Atlanta has lost... so I wonder, who made the decision to have a second hockey team return to Atlanta, only to see it move to Winnipeg?

As you know by now, Canada Post will be resuming operations effective today, which means mail will likely be delivered beginning tomorrow, or Tuesday, I guess. The union, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, began rotating strikes across the country. Eventually, Canada Post locked out its workers at 11:59 pm (it is unknown which time zone) on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. Eventually, employees couldn't get to work, and mail delivery, including parcels and letters, were ultimately suspended. In the end, the Conservative government introduced Bill C-6: An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of postal services, which was debated upon in Parliament for more than 48 hours. In the end, the bill passed after more than two days of filibusters by the NDP. This useless NDP tactic is reminiscent of the days Jack Layton was a city councillor in Toronto. The bill, which would have ended the lockout and forced workers back to work, also imposed lower wage increases than the ones offered by the Crown corporation. It's sad that it had to happen this way, but I blame the union for not being able to get its act together. During this process, my dislike of the NDP has reached new levels... to the extent where I wish they would suffer the same fate as the Liberal Party of Canada just did. Of course, Canada does have a democracy, and you can't really change the will of the people in this great country such as Canada. But hopefully, the useless NDP tactic in Parliament will turn off potential and existing voters when it comes to that radically-left-wing party. At this point, I see the situation benefitting the Conservative government (at least for the short term).

Recently, Tom Nevakshonoff, an NDP Member of the Legislative Assembly in Manitoba, spoke to constituents in the riding of Interlake, of which he is their MLA. He then made a comment about how they were lucky in comparison to those who were in earthquake/tsunami-ravaged Japan and Joplin, Missouri. Although that may be true to most people, it's something that should not have been said in the first place, as it can be hurtful. As for the people in that riding that are offended, they should lighten up... because the sad fact of that matter is that, what Mr. Nevakshonoff may actually be... correct, and you can't hold something against a man for speaking the truth. And yes, I do realize that I am defending an NDP MLA, even if I don't necessarily like the NDP.

As you know by now, the City of Saskatoon has essentially approved construction of the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan (formerly known as the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan). Although there are private donations, and the City of Saskatoon will not be footing the entire bill, I still think it is a waste of money. Although the idea of a new public gallery is great, the price tag associated with the project seems astronomical, and should be funded entirely by private enterprises. Public money towards a public gallery is mostly money wasted. However, it is not as bad as money that goes towards the arts, which in return, produces inappropriate music and complains about the same government that is giving them funding in the first place.

The last thing I would like to touch base on is the mandatory curb-side recycling program that will soon be forced upon the residents of Saskatoon. From the start, I did not like the idea at all, especially when everyone has to pay for the program and the program somehow still remains "voluntary." At this point, I have a lot of questions that I'm too lazy to ask, because I know little to nothing about the process. So, I don't really have complaints about the process... yet, but I am somewhat concerned about the implications, as I am fine with lugging recyclable materials to the existing recycling depots that exist in Saskatoon, as they are convenient. For a little bit of information, you can consult this PDF document.

Well, that's all of my complaining for now...

Up next, I'd like to talk about my boring life.

So, it really has been a while since I last updated this blog. In fact, it's been more than a month. So, instead of going into detail what I've been doing, since I'm too lazy to go into detail in this update, here's a list of the highlights (or other things) of my boring life since my last blog update:

My evil cousins and their family went to Alberta for the Victoria Day long weekend. That left me taking care of their evil dog Jack, whom I swear is possessed with something odd.
I visited one of my mom's friends at the Saskatoon City Hospital. In the process, I made fun of a friend named Lisa, whom I did not know was working there.
My cousin Jeannette's baby Isabelle finally arrived in our world! It's a miracle. She was born on May 26, 2011 (I believe). I know that David and Jeannette will be great parents!
I learned that the Blockbuster Canada stores I often frequent in Saskatoon would not be closing. Lakewood Common, however, wasn't so lucky. I did visit the closing store at least three times before it closed, and managed to buy some things at some pretty good prices, including rechargeable batteries at 50% off the regular price and titanium batteries at 70% off the regular price.
I bugged my cousin Ky at work in person for the first time, ever.
The first session of the 41st Parliament finally began on June 2, with Andrew Scheer becoming the new Speaker of the House of Commons. Of course, the Throne Speech on June 3 was interrupted by one grand-standing girl named Brigette DePape. My street also got swept on June 2, 2011.
The weekend of June 9-11 was a good weekend, as the Conservative Party Convention occurred in Ottawa at the new Ottawa Convention Centre. It was also Family Fun Day at work. I didn't take many pictures, and my cousins "cheated" at bowling by choosing lanes with guard-rails that prevented bowling balls from going into the gutter.
For every day of work between June 12 and June 17, I added a little bit of overtime to every work day, therefore making it a week full of long work days. I even worked five hours on a day I had... off.
Canada Post eventually suspended its operations nationwide, thus locking out 48,000-50,000 employees.
On Wednesday, June 15, 2011, I harassed a number of people at their workplaces. I had planned to make fun of two people, but was able to make fun of five people at work. However, I was not able to mock Shelly at work. By the end of that night, many parts of Vancouver would be destroyed by rioters.
On Saturday, June 18, 2011, I was going shopping with my mom. She told me to stop at the Canadian Tire at Preston Crossing. Having issues finding a parking spot, my mom interrupted my work and told me to park in a handicapped spot as I waited for her. Obviously, she is a bad influence, and this may explain why I myself may be evil. Later in the day, I watched a movie called Hall Pass. The Vietnamese women in the movie were funny. But what I found more entertaining is the fact that a Honda Odyssey is used in the movie. It's funny because it represents an inside joke between my mom and myself. My uncle has a dark blue 2007 Honda Odyssey, when he should be driving a Toyota Sienna. The colour of that mini-van drives my mom insane, as she hates that dark shade of blue. Then, her boss eventually bought one and bragged about how cool he thought it was... with the exact same colour. Then, her boss' brother bought a 2007 Honda Odyssey as well, with the exact same colour. Therefore, she hates Honda now, with a specific emphasis on the Odyssey. I'm just glad the van in the movie wasn't dark blue. Well, I actually am kind of sad, because I could have bugged my mom about it for a while.
The MuchMusic Video Awards (obviously on MuchMusic) this year was held in Toronto on June 19, 2011. Selena Gomez was a co-host, and I enjoyed the fact that she said Saskatchewan was fun to say. Aside from her and Justin Bieber, I failed to recognize most of the guests during the show. And yes, I actually watched.
Earlier this month, McDonald's Canada brought the McRib back to its Canadian restaurants. I had one for the first time, ever.
On Thursday, my cousin Tho's grade 8 class had its farewell ceremony at Saint Philip Neri Parish. I got some answers to questions about my own cousin from his evil friends because my own cousin is evil and deceitful. Then, he received his completion certificate and we all went to Montana's Cookhouse for dinner, where I had an awesome steak. I also got mocked in the process. To see pictures from the event, click here. Later that night, the NDP would delay back-to-work legislation for Canada Post workers (Bill C-6) for as long as it could. The filibuster would last until Saturday evening, when MPs were finally able to vote on the bill, which ultimately passed. The Senate debated the bill, and it received royal assent last night. Workers will be back at work tomorrow, or Tuesday as it is called.
On Saturday, I finally began packing for my trip to Ottawa. Eventually, I finished packing last night. Saturday was also the two-year anniversary of the day Michael Jackson passed away.
Not long ago, I requested a flag that has flown on Parliament Hill. I received a pretty awesome response, essentially highlighting what was already mentioned on the website.

Well, now that I've talked about my life in excruciating detail, it's time for some news that I've found interesting, or sad...

Blockbuster Canada, after being placed in receivership, announced that it would close 140+ stores. The final number was 146 stores.
A rapture that was to occur never happened.
Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper received a life sentence.
Bob Rae became the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Target Canada revealed its first 105 Canadian stores.
Germany announced that it would abandon all of its nuclear power plants by 2022.
An Ottawa-area church gave away free gas on June 11, 2011.
Tour dates for the royal couple were announced.
It was announced that Jerry Seinfeld would be visiting Regina.
An NHL team has returned to Winnipeg. The new team's name will be the... Winnipeg Jets.
A Chinese boy sold his kidneys to buy an iPad 2.
Canada Post employees began rotating strikes across the country. The rotating strikes eventually led to a lockout by Canada Post, which led to back-to-work legislation being passed to force everyone back to work (after filibuster-after-filibuster), and to accept wage increases that are less than what Canada Post was offering. This is where the union... lost.
A Malaysian man was ordered to apologize to a company 100 times on Twitter.
Former U.S. presidential candidate John Edwards, who cheated on his wife, has been indicted for certain crimes.
Brigette DePape interrupts the June 3, 2011 Throne Speech.
Saskatchewan Conservative MP becomes the Speaker of the House of Commons. He becomes the youngest Speaker in Canadian history and the first MP from Saskatchewan to accomplish such a feat.
Americans are hilarious.
Blockbuster L.L.C. (previously Blockbuster Inc.), under new managements, comes up with a lame promotion.
Moms everywhere are selling excess breast milk, if that makes any sense to you.
The successor to the Wii from Nintendo was announced.
Brampton, Ontario became the first Canadian city to ban shark fin soup.
Another Facebook blunder leads to actual party crashing.
IBM turned 100 years old.
U.S. Congresswoman was released from a hospital in Houston and she eventually returned home to Tucson, Arizona for a brief period of time. Earlier, her office released recent photos of her.
New York became the sixth state in the United States to legalize same-sex marriages.
Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent decided that he'll be starting a think-tank soon. Great, another useless think-tank...
The life of famous Scottish singer Susan Boyle will be turned into a musical.
Before his death, Osama bin Laden wanted to change his terrorist organization's "brand," as he believed its image was suffering.
Is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg engaged?
A woman is transferring her womb to her daughter so she can give birth through the very same womb she came from.
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner was dumped before his wedding day.
Republican Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann announced her intentions to run for the presidency in the United States.
Former Liberal senator Raymond Lavigne received a six-month prison sentence.
The iconic Toyota HiAce is getting a makeover. I'm saddened by this, as the design of the current generation is quite legendary.
A Saskatoon resident is "irked" by the construction of a sound wall adjacent to Lakeridge that also happens to be by her backyard. There appears to be a lot of inconsistencies from the woman featured in the article. I'd say she's kind of... bitter, and one of those people who constantly calls police about people who drive fast on Circle Drive. Well... she lives near Circle Drive, so high speeds can always be expected. I'm wondering why this was news in the first place.

Now, this wouldn't be an awesome blog update without sharing some awesome photos. Here are some pictures I've taken recently that I'd like you to see:

The old Canadian Tire store on Confederation Drive still sits empty.
Avocado Restaurant and Lounge is overrated and the food isn't all that good.
I bugged my cousin Ky at work for the first time, ever.
My street finally got swept by city crews on June 2, 2011.
I saw a specific traffic signal turn red for the first time in my life.
The Blockbuster Canada store in Lakewood Common started its liquidation sales.
I had an Angus Burger at McDonald's for the first time. The McRib followed.
I cooked some burgers on my own. They were good, but I felt full for almost two days!
Canada Post mailboxes really were being sealed!
I wonder what it feels like to have cocoa butter on your face.
My cousin Tho's grade 8 class had its farewell ceremony at St. Philips Neri Parish in Saskatoon. I went to the event, and was eventually mocked. Stupid Tho...
People in Peru may have a different definition of "premium" than Canadians.
Tony actually dressed appropriately for once.
"Foreign Fat Guy Tax" is a funny headline.
The Saskatoon Co-operative Association got ahead of itself in terms of dates.

Well, that's all I have for you today, and I would like to thank you for reading my incredibly-long blog update, which I've tried to shorten somewhat. On Tuesday (tomorrow) morning, June 28, I will be leaving Saskatoon for a nine-day vacation/trip to Ottawa. I will actually begin my trip by visiting Reverend Nathan in Montréal upon my arrival in Ottawa. Then, I will likely head to Québec City at some point. But ultimately, I will return to Ottawa on July 1, 2011 for Canada Day, where I will hopefully meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate Middleton) on Parliament Hill, as they will be doing a walkabout in the afternoon. I've been "encouraged" to propose to Kate Middleton by someone that my mom has long considered to be a bad influence. Although it is a funny idea, it will likely not happen. Anyway, I will be back on July 6, 2011, and I will be sure to tune you into my travel experience with another very long blog update, as well as with pictures posted to Facebook and Flickr. Now, as exciting as my trip will be, it is also important to note that Canada's mission in Afghanistan wraps up in July, and it is those brave men and women in Afghanistan that have chosen to serve their country for nothing in return in order to secure the safety and freedom that we seemingly take for granted here in Canada. And at the major risk of sounding selfish, I couldn't be more excited that they are finally coming home... to Canada! Now... as for the Ottawa trip, I plan on dropping by John Baird's constituency office in Ottawa West-Nepean. As for the entire itinerary, I think I shall keep it a secret this year. However, you can rest assured that I have made charts and tables again, the same way I did last year.

Thank you for reading, and remember: DON'T GET RIPPED BY THE RIPTIDE (a message brought to you by Martin Sargent). Man, I really miss his show that was on TechTV (and later G4techTV), Unscrewed with Martin Sargent.

BREAKING NEWS: School's Out for Summer!

2011-05-23T19:38:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone. It's been a while, but I'm finally updating this blog with my personal details, once again... and it's been an interesting few weeks since I last updated this blog with my personal life occurrences.

When I last updated my blog with my personal life details, I was writing final exams and it was about over. I wrote my last final exam on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. During that same week, the last Steve Carrell episode of The Office aired on NBC. Then, on April 29, 2011, Prince William and Kate Middleton finally got married in London, ending weeks of media coverage for the royal couple. The next round of major media coverage for them will be in June and July, when they visit Canada. My friend, Reverend Nathan, has put an evil idea into my head for the time they will be spending in Ottawa on July 1, 2011. He has since "moved" to Montréal for the "summer."

Over the weekend of April 30, 2011 (Saturday), Prime Minister Stephen Harper turned 52 years old. Obviously, he's getting old. Matt Baumfeld turned... a year older on that day. I mailed him something mysterious in the mail a few days prior. And earlier in the day, I saw an old man chasing after a Saskatoon Transit bus, only to see the transit operator drive away from him.

May 1, 2011 was what would have been Jeff Meville's 23rd birthday. But it was also significant, as it was revealed by the U.S. government that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

May 2, 2011 was Election Day in Canada, and it was obviously an historic election. Earlier, I had listed my own concerns and views before the election. But overall, I was quite happy. What's important, however, is that John Baird got re-elected and that Mark Holland (I despised him) got defeated. And of course, this specific election proved that you don't need to win many seats in Québec to form a majority government. Meanwhile, my evil cousin Tony turned seven years old on May 2, 2011. Anyway, I worked for Elections Canada on May 2, 2011, and I was a Deputy Returning Officer. Once people were done voting for the day, I was required to count the votes. Based on my own poll, Conservative candidate Kelly Block received about 36 votes. NDP candidate Nettie Wiebe received 64 votes. Meanwhile, the Liberal candidate Lee Reaney received five votes. As for the Green Party of Canada's candidate, she received one vote.

Over the weekend of April 30/May 1, I saw a goofy commercial for products that I am quite sceptical of. To check them out, visit www.drhonow.com.

May 7 was free Comic Book Day. I got a couple of free comic books myself.

May 8 was of course, Mother's Day, which is an ultra-important day. I also downloaded the first five seasons of How I Met Your Mother in torrent form. Season 4 was probably the better season, and the episode titled "The Stinsons" is probably the best one I've seen thus far. As for season 6, the current season, it came to an end on May 16, 2011. As for the Barney Stinson character, I find him entertaining... but I like the fact that he believes relationships are for suckers.

May 9 was an important date, as the City of Saskatoon voted to scrap the idea of putting fluoride into the city's tap water permanently.

At some point, I requested a flag that has flown on Parliament Hill. There is a waiting list of either 20 years or 32 years, depending on where the flag was originally flown. To request your flag, click here.

For the most part of the week of May 8 to 14, 2011, I watched many episodes of How I Met Your Mother. On May 13, 2011, I tethered my Android phone to my laptop for the first time. I also paid a visit to an annual garage sale in the Montgomery Place area.

My cousin Ky eventually got a 1998 Toyota Camry LE from his dad. That's still not as cool as my 2001 Toyota Camry LE though, which I like to cause trouble in.

On Sunday (May 15), I went out and took some random pictures after driving around. I needed some time to myself to think. I did see a new traffic signal post at the intersection of Wiggins Avenue North and College Drive, as well as new traffic signals in the Erindale/Willowgrove area. It was a good time to test out my new Eye-Fi memory card. I eventually made it out to a small town named Clavet.

On Monday, May 16, 2011, it was announced that Parliament would finally resume on June 2, 2011. It's about time! With the NDP as the Official Opposition, I look forward to question period in the near future! This makes me glad that the Liberal Party of Canada failed to win, as they were planning on reforming question period (something I'm totally against).

As for last week (May 15-21), most of the week was uneventful. I watched every episode of How I Met Your Mother, so far. On Saturday, I went to Sears early in the morning and got myself a free $5 Petro-Canada gift card. I got one just for being there, as the first 100 customers at the store got one that morning.

Well, that should cover my "boring" and uneventful life.

Now, for some pictures of things I saw recently. Here are some interesting pictures I took in recent weeks (in no particular order):

I drove by the Regional Psychiatric Centre.
I took a picture of the back of Reverend Nathan's head.
Something that made me quite happy!
A small crowd appeared outside of 8th Street Books & Comics.
I got my picture taken with Wolverine, Batman and Stormtrooper.
My mom made some steamed shrimp dumplings (har gau).
I saw rubber pavement for the first time, ever.
Tired of cooking lobsters yourself? This is for you!
I thought I saw a Vista Cruiser...
My cousin Ky's 1998 Toyota Camry LE.
I drove by Clavet School.
I saw "veggie burger burgers" at the Real Canadian Superstore.
Someone decided to disgrace their own Toyota Solara! Shame...

Now, it's time to complain about society in my own unique way...

As you know or may not know (depending on who you are and how ignorant you can be), teachers in Saskatchewan took job action and walked off the job on May 5, 2011, for the first time in Saskatchewan's history over pay disputes. They plan on doing so again this upcoming Wednesday and Thursday, after serving at least 48 hours' notice. The Government of Saskatchewan is offering a 5.5% increase in pay over three years, while the teachers' union is demanding about 11.5% over three years. I do believe that teachers deserve a raise, but just how much of a raise is something I'm pondering. However, I do believe teachers deserve a raise. They are the ones teaching young people (at least they try their hardest) to become the next generation of people in the real world. The fact that they have to spend time with children and annoyingly-rude teenagers is proof that school is kind of like a daycare that's almost free. In fact, there's probably a reason as to why Clifford Huxtable (The Cosby Show) celebrates every time his kids leave his house (or go to school).

The next subject of my complaining is Nettie Wiebe. Nettie Wiebe was the NDP candidate in several federal elections representing Saskatchewan. In 2004, she ran as the party's candidate in the riding of Saskatoon-Humboldt. She lost to Brad Trost. In the 2006, 2008 and 2011 (this year) federal elections, she ran in the riding of Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, losing to the Conservative candidate Kelly Block and Carol Skelton in 2006. After several tries to become a Member of Parliament, I am hoping that she will give up for once. Besides, when you vote for a candidate that represents a riding that will likely end up in opposition, they aren't going to serve much of a purpose, besides complaining about what the government does in Parliament. What's complaining going to do? But as for the NDP itself, they managed to get a bunch of university students elected in Québec. It's great that "youths" are representing people in Parliament, but they are representing the wrong party, and are therefore useless. And yes, the NDP is and shall remain completely irrelevant to Canadians.

Meanwhile, it finally became apparent to me recently that former Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff never paid a visit to Saskatoon. I wonder if it has anything to do with a letter I wrote to him in early 2009 shortly after the coalition issue of 2008.

Now, as you know, the Sun News Network has been on TV for a while (it launched in April). However, as much as I enjoy the show, there is one host and particular TV show that I cannot stand, and it is Theo Caldwell, who hosts The Caldwell Account. I don't really know why... but I do find him to be an obnoxious person that acts like a child, and I find it somewhat annoying that he gets to host a two-hour show.

As you know by now, residents of Slave Lake, Alberta have been devastated as a huge portion of the town has been destroyed by wildfires. I am quite saddened by the fact that a huge chunk of the town has been destroyed, but am thankful that there have been no deaths reported. Hopefully, residents will be able to return to the town, soon.

Recently, City Council approved bus route changes to some Saskatoon Transit routes. Those changes will come into effect as of July 3, 2011. For complete information on the changes, you may click here. So far, it looks like none of the route changes will affect me, unless I move. However, it could affect others. As a result, I encourage you to check out the link I've provided, as the changes may affect you, especially if you still use Saskatoon Transit as a form of getting to and from school.

On Wednesday (May 18), Prime Minister Stephen Harper made changes to the Canadian Ministry, or made a "cabinet shuffle." I was happy to see that Bev Oda kept her current job as Minister of International Cooperation. I was slightly surprised to see John Baird named as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but I am quite happy about that appointment nonetheless. Tony Clement is now the President of the Treasury Board. Vic Toews, who was quite entertaining, kept the job of Minister of Public Safety. Even Maxime Bernier came back to cabinet, as Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism). These "changes" were pretty exciting, and I'm glad that Mr. Baird is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Lawrence Cannon, who unfortunately got defeated.

Recently, people in Britain were part of a referendum as to whether or not they'd want to switch to a new voting system called "alternative vote" from the existing first-past-the-post system. In the first-past-the-post system, candidates with the most votes would simply win. But in the alternative vote system promoted by the Liberal Democrats, candidates would be ranked in preference (Prime Minister David Cameron had to agree to the referendum in exchange for support in a coalition with Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg). Well, as it turns out, people in Britain voted for... the same. So, alternative vote is dead, and I couldn't be happier. There are many reasons to fear alternative vote. For instance, what if you wanted to run for political office? In the alternative vote world, you could gain the most votes, but still end up being a loser, while someone who had fewer votes that you originally, could be voted in. Besides, in the alternative vote system, it would be harder to throw out unpopular governments. In fact, I like what British Prime Minister David Cameron said about the alternative vote system: "With First Past the Post, everyone gets one vote, and that vote is counted once. That’s fair. But under AV, supporters of extremist or fringe parties can get their votes counted again and again and again. That's unfair. It's simply not right that the fifth vote of a Monster Raving Looney supporter counts as much as your first vote." The New Democratic Party of Canada, or NDP, for years, has been advocating the use of proportional representation. Well, I wonder if they've changed their position, since the existing first-past-the-post system is the same system that propelled them to Official Opposition status, beating the Liberals to second place, which more than tripled their seat count from the 40th Parliament.

Recently, for many months and/or years, there once stood a house that was oddly out of place near the University Bridge here in Saskatoon. Arrangements were eventually made to sell the land, so that a company could build condos on the site. Instead of demolishing the house, the developers allowed the previous owner of the home to move the house off the site. Eventually, the house got demolished, and I couldn't be happier. I was worried about what may happen to innocent traffic signals during the process of moving the house. The previous owner wanted to move the house to 107th Street in Sutherland, but that request was denied. The City of Saskatoon eventually approved a request to move the house of the city... but in the end, the house was demolished, because the owner couldn't get his act together.

As you know, the Liberal Party of Canada suffered its worst defeat in Canadian history on May 2, 2011. At this point, the party believes it can rebuild itself if they choose not to name a new permanent leader until the fall of 2012. Well, that may be true. But in the meantime, they must choose an interim leader. I just hope it's not Bob Rae. However, it looks as if he may win the interim leadership position after all. I'd like to know who will become their permanent leader, but we'll have to wait until late 2012.

Last night on the season finale of The Simpsons, Ned Flanders and Edna Krabappel began dating. However, after some concerns with Edna's past, Ned Flanders was questioning his relationship with her. In the end, he decided that their relationship should be decided upon by "higher powers." This is where you come in. If you still watch the show (or not), you are encouraged to vote on whether or not the couple should continue their relationship. To vote, please head over to www.thesimpsons.com/nedna to cast your vote. As a citizen of the Internet and television, you are obligated to vote! I for one am in favour of the relationship, as it will likely add twists to the show. As for twists, the season 4 finale of The Big Bang Theory contained a huge twist involving Raj and Penny!

Canada Post is having a contest called the "My Canada Photo Contest." I have uploaded a photo that I took last year and have entered it as my own contest entry. You must "like" the page via Facebook, or I'll be forced to do something nonsensical!

It has been reported that the owner of the Atlanta Thrashers hockey team is in talks with True North Sports to sell the team to True North, which would like to move the team to Winnipeg. I hope it's true. It just makes no damn sense to have hockey teams in the southern United States, especially if they suck. NHL hockey teams, no matter how lame, belong in Canada. Besides, Atlanta is a "serious dump," according to Reverend Nathan, and I doubt that anyone would notice if they lost their crappy NHL team (yes, I know this is a wildly-inaccurate assumption).

Recently, as you may or may not know, a band named Living With Lions, a Vancouver-area punk band, came under fire from American media following the release of its cheesy-looking album, "Holy Shit." Now, I doubt that most media outlets would care (especially with Canadian musicians/bands), but it came to the attention of the media, because the group of lame musicians was funded by... the Government of Canada. The album's packaging is designed to look like the Bible with faded pages... and Jesus is portrayed as a piece of excrement. I am not Catholic or Christian myself, but I do find this to be an absolute disgrace, but mainly because their album was funded by the Government of Canada, and that fact was printed on the back part of the album cover. It is outrageous that this band is being funded by the government, and I hope that the government pulls their funding for all future projects. This is what happens when you fund the arts... people get offended. It's better to pull funding for all types of arts, whether it be musicians, actors, plays and anything in the form of entertainment. If these "artists" want money, they should beg for it like the bums that they are. If they insist on spending taxpayers' money, they should be respectful to people of all religious beliefs, races, sexual preferences or whatever may apply in this type of situation. Of course, they should also make their content/artwork/productions promote the well-being of the Conservative Party of Canada. However, we all know that's never going to happen, especially since they love the useless CBC. So, unless they are willing to promote the well-being of the Conservative Party of Canada, these bums ("artists") should not be funded by taxpayers. If they insist on spreading music that is lame (and also offensive), they should find ways to get that "free" money themselves. This is why running a government is difficult. If you try to be fair to everyone in your decisions, you end up getting screwed in the long run. This is exactly why the current Conservative government should be even more partisan than they have been during the last five years. That way, you only alienate the correct (the left) group of people.

This past weekend (part of the current long weekend), I read this specific article that summarizes what the Conservative government will do within 100 days of returning to Parliament (if they won a majority government, in which they did). They promised to pass all their crime bills in one mega omnibus bill. It will be easy, since our party has taken over Parliament and the Senate (and you thought the Senate was useless). What I'm most excited about is the Penalties for Organized Crime Act, which imposes minimum sentences for drug crimes. Anyone caught growing as few as five plants will be given a minimum of six months in prison. Being soft on crime is for suckers. Treating criminals like the hardened criminals that they are is where it's at. The bill would also impose a minimum sentence of one year for those who are trafficking marijuana, while the maximum prison sentence will rise to 14 years from seven years.

Meanwhile, the Ending House Arrest for Property and Other Serious Crimes by Serious and Violent Offenders Act (I really like the long name) will end house arrest for those who cause bodily harm, used a weapon, or were involved in the import/export/trafficking/production of drugs. However, what's most important is the Protecting Children from Sexual Predators Act, would amend the Criminal Code of Canada to create new offences and impose increased or new mandatory minimum penalties for certain sexual offences against children. This is important, as anyone who commits a sexual offence against an innocent child will face at least 90 days in jail, which is up from the current minimum of 14 days. Meanwhile, anyone who commits a more serious sexual offence against a child will face at least six months in jail, rather than the current 45 days. In addition, anyone who commits bestiality in the presence of someone less than 16 years old will face a new minimum penalty of imprisonment for at least one month. With all that the current Conservative government will soon be doing, it boggles my mind that anyone would support the opposition parties' positions on these important crime bills. The Liberal Party of Canada once said that some of these bills went "too far." Well, they've been pushed to third place... for a reason.

Well, that's all for my complaining-about-society. Since my last blog update, a lot of interesting things have occurred in the world. Here is a list of some interesting news (in no particular order):

Macho Man died in a car accident. This is quite sad.
Teachers in Saskatchewan will be taking job action on Wednesday and Thursday of this week.
The rapture was supposed to arrive on Saturday. It didn't.
Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger faces an uphill battle, as his wife has hired a high-powered lawyer.
A woman attempted to perform a drive-by slapping. The target? Her daughter! Sadly, she failed.
NDP Leader Jack Layton seems to think he can make a difference, just because his party has over 100 seats in Parliament.
Doctors in a Houston, Texas hospital used a hard plastic implant to repair Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' skull.
White teachers in the Philadelphia area are suing their school district and are accusing black superiors of racism.
Celebrities said goodbye to Oprah Winfrey. Sadly, it doesn't mean she's going to fade from TV anytime soon.
A clip of the "new" animated show Napoleon Dynamite has surfaced.
A new study released states that Netflix takes up a good portion of a customer's bandwidth.
It has been 49+ years since the unsolved murder of Saskatoon-area nurse Alexandra Wiwcharuk.
The Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas closed.
McCain Foods founder Wallace McCain has died.
Queen Elizabeth II made a historic-first-visit to Ireland.
China faces an exploding-watermelon problem.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admits to having a secret love child.
Parliament will finally resume on June 2, 2011.
A sex exhibition has opened up at the Saskatchewan Science Centre.
An honest teen effectively got screwed by her own city, only to be rewarded later on.
Pornography was found in Osama bin Laden's compound.
Justin Bieber may not have that many fans in Hong Kong.
Prince William and Kate Middleton finally got married.
Chrysler announced that it will finally repay its loans to the Governments of Canada and Ontario.
An old dude was caught travelling at 140 km/h in a 60 km/h zone here in Saskatoon.
Harper Lee revealed why she didn't write a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. You just have to buy a book containing the revelation.
A postcard arrived 24 years late. Because of the United States Postal Service, two women spent 24 years apart for no apparent reason.
Denny's started offering an interesting menu item.
Neil Diamond made temporary changes to his trademark "Sweet Caroline" song.
The University of Manitoba has some paranoid professors.
A security breach took down the PlayStation Network.
Sunny Street Café announced that it would be expanding to Canada.
An already-vacant house in Ontario was broken into anyway.
An elderly couple received a five-pound brick of marijuana by mistake.
A man checks in with cops late, and is the ultimate menace to society.
DISH Network completed its acquisition of Blockbuster, Inc.
The Bloc Québécois was so desperate that it brought in former Québec Premier Jacques Parizeau. The party was decimated on May 2, 2011.
Celebrity chef Ken Kostick passed away.
Blockbuster LLC closed a store in Aurora, Illinois, only to reopen it. The same happens in Orange County with two stores.
Blockbuster Canada has been pushed into receivership because of Blockbuster LLC's woes in the United States.

Well, that is all for now. Now, here are some forward-looking statements...

The month of May is almost coming to an end. And as of May 21, I have returned to working 40 hours a week. For the next four weeks (including this one), I will be working 40 hours a week while getting Wednesdays and Thursdays off from work. I don't have any special events planned for this month, but a lot of cool things will be happening in June and at least part of July (for the foreseeable future). On June 2, my street will finally be swept (yes, this is exciting) and Parliament will resume! And since it's a Thursday, I will have the day off! That's already a good start to the month! Then, the Conservative Convention will occur on June 9, June 10 and June 11. Meanwhile, June 11 will be "Family Fun Day" at work, where I will get to bug my superiors in person, rather than through webcam/online meetings or conference calls. On June 23, 2011, my cousin Tho's grade 8 class will have its farewell party/ceremony. By June 30, 2011, he will have completed grade 8, and will be ready to move on to the hollow halls of high school in September. I can't believe how fast kids grow these days... it seems like just yesterday that the evil Tho was in kindergarten. But more importantly, on June 28, 2011, I will be leaving Saskatoon to head on a nine-day trip to Ottawa, Montréal and possibly Québec City. On July 1, Canada Day, Prince William and Kate Middleton (Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) are supposedly going to be in Ottawa. I plan on being in Ottawa on that day as well, and I plan to "ask Kate Middleton to marry me," as "encouraged" by Reverend Nathan (given the opportunity to speak to her). A preliminary list of places I must visit include Reverend Nathan's lame temporary apartment, St. Joseph's Oratory, the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography, Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canada Aviation and Space Museum, and much more. Another list will be provided, soon. In addition, I plan on sending many nonsensical postcards to my closest friends.

Well, that's all for now! Thank you for taking the time to read my extremely-long blog update, and I hope to update this blog again soon! Good day! Oh yeah, scan the QR barcode! By the way, it is just me or has there been a lot of strike activity lately? There are the teachers... then there are the health workers and now a potential postal strike? Damn labour unions...

BREAKING NEWS: Conservative Party of Canada Wins Majority Government; No, It's Not Just an Awesome Dream!

2011-05-10T23:19:00.001-06:00

Hello my foreign friends. It has been a while since I've updated this blog, and as you know by now, Canada had an historic general election at the federal level on May 2, 2011. Even if the election was not necessary, it was still a very good election, and not many people predicted the awesome election results. As such, the Conservative Party of Canada will continue to rule this land... this land we call Canada. As for all of you non-Conservative supporters, and "anti-Harper crusaders," we're here and we're getting tough on crime... so get used to it! And yes, I say "we," because I am a member of the insanely-awesome Conservative Party of Canada that is so cool it that it hurts non-Conservative supporters, therefore making it the coolest party that hurts non-Conservative supporters in the history of cool parties that hurts non-Conservative supporters that ever existed.

As you can tell, I am quite excited, and have not quite gotten over the fact that May 2, 2011, was a historic day. It is historic in a number of ways. Here are some of the reasons...

The *new* Conservative Party of Canada got its first majority government since its creation. Yes, conservative parties in the past have formed a majority government in Canada, but that was the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and the last prime minister to give that party an elected majority government was the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, since Kim Campbell does not count from that aspect. With that in mind, the Conservative Party of Canada won its first majority government since the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In a way, both the party and Prime Minister Stephen Harper made history. This also means we won't be having an election for a while. This is the important part, and should not be feared. Canada will be a better place now, and will incrementally improve over the next little while, as we now have a strong, stable, national, majority Conservative government. However, what's really important to me is that John Baird, Pierre Poilievre and Christian Paradis got re-elected. However, I am quite saddened by the defeats of Lawrence Cannon, Josée Verner, Jean-Pierre Blackburn and Gary Lunn. As for Chuck Strahl and Stockwell Day, who have decided not to run for re-election, I will miss them (especially Stockwell Day's wetsuits).

The New Democratic Party of Canada, which I have always considered to be a fringe party, formed the Official Opposition, which will see their leader Jack Layton move into Stornoway, where Michael Ignatieff previously lived, or will be moving out very soon. This would be the first time the party has made it to second place in its own history. Along with the party, there are a lot of "fringe" candidates that include many who did not expect to be elected. This is quite dangerous, as they appeal to today's youth. Obviously, today's youth are quite... crazy, as they are willing to vote for a high-tax party that seems to think money grows on trees. Although I am a "youth" myself, according to some stupid nonsensical standards, I will never vote for such a party. However, the surge of this party to second place in an election came at the expense of the Bloc Québécois, who were reduced to just four seats in the House of Commons, officially killing their party status. And yes, they will no longer be recognized as a party. However, I am encouraged by the defeat of Jim Maloway in Manitoba and the fact that they failed to elect any MPs from Saskatchewan. Yes, Saskatchewan shunned the NDP, even though it is the birth province for the NDP, and that makes me quite happy.

This brings in the Liberal Party of Canada, and its leader Michael Ignatieff, who has since resigned, only to find a new job almost immediately after resigning. Now, during the campaign, Michael Ignatieff started off as someone highly arrogant, who took too long to say that he would not be forming a coalition with the NDP or Bloc Québécois if the Conservatives won the most seats, but not enough to form a majority. Then, he looked angry most of the time during the English leaders' debates, as well as part of the French leaders' debates. However, I'm pretty sure that things started to go down the tube for Mr. Ignatieff when Jack Layton pointed out his poor attendance record. In addition to that, he "explained" to Prime Minister Stephen Harper that in Canada, if you win a minority of seats in Canada, you "try" to win the confidence of the house. Of course, being in Mr. Harper's position, that may be difficult, as Canada only had useless opposition parties that did not nothing but oppose everything (including useful bills) during the 40th Parliament. Budget 2011 was a good example of how useless the opposition coalition parties were. However, another thing he said made him sound highly arrogant (and no, he didn't say he was highly arrogant like he did while he was away from Canada). During the English leaders' debates, he said to Jack Layton after Mr. Layton said that the Liberal Party of Canada has a record of making promises and not keeping them: "At least we get into government. You'll be in opposition forever!" Don't believe me? Click here. I'm not sure what damaged Mr. Ignatieff's chances of forming a Liberal government and being the prime minister. It was either the attendance record or telling Mr. Layton he'd be "in opposition forever." With sagging poll numbers, Mr. Ignatieff became more annoying, and told everyone to "rise up," leading to the lame and ineffective "Rise Up for Canada" campaign by the party. This came off as desperate. However, people did "rise up." They just didn't "rise up" in a manner that was beneficial to Mr. Ignatieff. Ultimately, Mr. Ignatieff, who was hoping to form a Liberal government, led the party into its worst defeat in Canadian history. In 1984, when Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to its 200+ seat victory, the Liberal Party of Canada won only 40 seats under the leadership of John Turner. In 2011, just last week, Mr. Ignatieff led the party to its worst defeat in Canadian history, as mentioned, winning only 34 seats. Somehow, he also managed to lose his own seat... and that's pretty sad. However, not only was that a disaster for them, they were pushed to the third place for the first time in Canadian history. Now, over the years (something highly exaggerated), I have made it clear that I dislike the Liberal Party of Canada. Although this news is good news to me as a political junkie, it still seems like a dream that will never come to fruition. However, it isn't, and I've been smiling (for the most part) since the election. This should come as a shock to Reverend Nathan. In all honesty though, I do kind of feel bad for Mr. Ignatieff... but that is democracy in action. Of course, had the Conservative Party of Canada lost the election, my position on democracy would change, because it wouldn't have benefitted me, or my party. Now, my pity for Mr. Ignatieff may be sending an unclear message. However, to be clear, I am quite happy that the Liberal Party of Canada was pushed to third place. However, the reality of the NDP being in second place still scares me. Aside from that, the Liberals did lose a lot of people. When it came to the Liberals, there were a lot of MPs that annoyed me greatly during the 40th Parliament, and I couldn't have been happier to see the following MPs get defeated, and replaced by members of other parties:

Siobhan Coady
Bonnie Crombie
Ruby Dhalla
Martha Hall Findlay
Mark Holland
Marlene Jennings
Anita Neville
Yasmin Ratansi
Joe Volpe

What saddens me is that Carolyn Bennett, Scott Brison, John McCallum, David McGuinty, Joyce Murray and Bob Rae managed to get re-elected. However, it is somewhat ironic that Stéphane Dion got re-elected, as he was tarred and feathered before being shown the red exit door by his own party. The only question that now remains is if the party will die the same way a similar party died in Britain.

As for the Bloc Québécois, which has been reduced to four seats from its previous majority of seats in Québec, it is no longer considered to be a party. Now, as a federalist, I am quite happy with the "death" of the Bloc Québécois. This means that I won't be seeing the following people in the House of Commons (possibly forever) for a long time (in no particular order): Pierre A. Paquette, France Bonsant, Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac (she may be Vietnamese, but she is a disgrace) and Bernard Bigras (I could never stand this guy). As for the party's leader, Gilles Duceppe (who resigned on May 2), he was an interesting character. And although I am happy that he is gone, I must say that he was an entertaining fellow who always seemed to be up to no good (a lot like myself). As for Mr. Duceppe, however, he thought he could simply go around and expect to get re-elected with a bunch of seats. That may have worked in previous elections, but he obviously didn't see an NDP surge coming (neither did anyone else), and the NDP won 100+ seats at his expense, and others in the province of Québec.

Meanwhile, the Green Party of Canada managed to win its first seat, with party leader Elizabeth May winning that seat. Although this was an historic event for Canada, and especially for the party itself, I am not happy with this development, as it came at the expense of a Conservative Member of Parliament: Gary Lunn. Therefore, I have no further comment on the Green Party of Canada winning its first seat. Oh wait, I lied... had the development come at the expense of any other party, I would be happy with this development. However, it came at the expense of the wrong party.

Well, that is my opinion regarding Election 2011. Now, before I conclude this update, I'd like to provide you with a picture of how the parties fared in each province in terms of seats.

In Alberta, the Conservative Party of Canada and NDP retained their respective seats. However, two new MPs were re-elected: Jim Hillyer and Michelle Rempel.

In British Columbia, the Liberals lost three seats while retaining two seats. As for the Conservatives, they lost two seats but won a new seat, while retaining four seats they held in the previous Parliament (they also elected new MPs Mark Strahl, David Wilks, Dan Albas and Bob Zimmer. As for the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May won the Green Party of Canada its first seat in Parliament in the riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands. As for the NDP, they gained three seats and elected a new MP, Kennedy Stewart. I wonder if the HST had any real influence on the election results.

In Manitoba, the Conservatives won two new seats at the expense of Anita Neville (she was annoying) from the Liberals and Jim Maloway from the NDP. Other than that, no other parties made gains or incurred losses. Out of 14 seats from Manitoba, the Conservatives now have 11, while the Liberals have one, and two for the NDP.

In New Brunswick, the Conservatives one new seat and retained one with a new MP. The Liberals retained one, but suffered a loss of two seats. Aside from that, no other parties made gains or losses.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, The NDP gained one seat, thus replacing Siobhan Coady from the Liberals (I really found her annoying). The Conservatives gained a seat after being shut out of the province in the 2008 election due to Danny Williams' "Anything But Conservative" campaign... at the expense of a Liberal MP. The Liberals retained four seats, but suffered a total loss of two seats. No other provinces lost any seats or made gains.

In the Northwest Territories, Dennis Fraser Bevington from the NDP got re-elected... so no change there.

In Nova Scotia, the Conservatives retained all of their seats, without making any gains. The Liberals lost one seat, while retaining three seats that they already had. The NDP held onto their existing seats, and gained one at the expense of Michael Savage from the Liberals.

In Nunavut, Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq got re-elected... so the status quo won in that territory.

In battleground Ontario, the Liberals retained one seat (with a new MP named Ted Hsu) where the Honourable Peter Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons, was elected until he retired (the riding of Kingston and the Islands). Based on my own count, they party lost 26 seats, which include Michael Ignatieff, Joe Volpe (he was annoying as he peppered Toyota Canada with useless questions), Mark Holland (that guy was really annoying), Ruby Dhalla, Yasmin Ratansi (she's an absolute disgrace, according to John Baird), Bonnie Crombie and Martha Hall Findlay. The Conservative Party of Canada gained 20 seats while all their other MPs got re-elected! As for the NDP, they lost one seat, but gained six seats elsewhere.

In Québec, based on my count, the Bloc Québécois managed to lose 43 seats. They retained two seats, and elected two new MPs, but lost 43 seats. As for the Liberals, they seemed to have retained six MPs (including Justin Trudeau), elected a new MP, but lost nine seats. As for the NDP, they retained Thomas Mulcair's seat of Outremont, but of course gained 57 seats as well. So, out of 75 seats, they won 58. They're like the new Bloc Québécois, which is a left-wing party (for the most part) too. For the Conservatives, this is where they were a disappointment. Not only did they fail to make any gains in Québec, they lost four seats, which include three prominent members (in no particular order): Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Lawrence Cannon (this man can be angry) and Josée Verner (she was attractive).

In the province of Saskatchewan, where I reside, everyone maintained the status quo. In addition, Kelly Block, who represents the riding of Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, won by an even wider margin of votes in this year's election. Hopefully, the NDP candidate, Nettie Wiebe, will stop running for the NDP already.

As for the Yukon, Liberal MP Larry Bagnell was replaced by Ryan Leef, a Conservative candidate.

This election was indeed historic, and I couldn't be happier with the election results. Since I've been so happy, it has taken a long time for me to actually believe that this is real. And now that this is real, I look forward to the 41st Parliament. The earliest that can occur is on May 23, 2011, when the election writ is returned. I look forward to question period, and I look forward to seeing John Baird in action once again. However, I don't like having to wait. But as I speak about John Baird, I remember him saying that if the Conservatives were re-elected with just a minority, Jack Layton's NDP could win more seats than the Liberals, and Jack Layton could be the prime minister of a reckless coalition government. For the most part, that probably would have been true. This was during question period back in March. Later, he vows: "We won't let the socialists win!" In the end, the socialists didn't "win."

But soon, the government will have to get back to "getting shit done." However, what's more important is that we won't be having an election for a while. And with Mr. Harper in power, Canada's justice system will soon be going through some much-needed reform. Meanwhile, there is a budget to balance, as well as more people to control. Although I am disappointed with the loss in Québec, I am glad we do have a majority Conservative government for once.

Well, that is all for now. You can expect a "regular" blog update, soon.

Reverend Huy Dang's Odd Perspective on Election 2011

2011-04-29T23:20:00.001-06:00

Hello, and welcome to my blog once again. This time, I won't be talking about my boring life. This time, I will instead focus on just one thing: this year's federal election.

So, as you should know by now, the opposition parties in Parliament had triggered an election, and as of March 26, 2011, it was time to begin the campaign trail.

For starters, I did not want this election, but it looks like we're here, and we're going to have to get used to it. However, what I really wanted to talk about is candidates I'd like to see get re-elected, replaced or just gone altogether, or whatever it is that I feel like doing.

So, when it comes to Conservative Members of Parliament that I believe must absolutely be re-elected, here is the list of members I must see in the House of Commons once the 41st Parliament begins. Without them, life on Parliament Hill is going to be... lame.

Now, when it comes to the opposition parties, I would love to see all of the members get replaced. However, there is an exception to the list below. The people below from the Liberal Party of Canada must be replaced:

Scott Brison
Siobhan Coady
Ruby Dhalla
Ujjal Dosanjh
Wayne Easter
Hedy Fry
Ralph Goodale
Mark Holland
Michael Ignatieff
Marlene Jennings
John McCallum
David McGuinty
Anita Neville
Marcel Proulx
Bob Rae

Now, the following annoying people from the NDP must be replaced:

Charlie Angus
Niki Ashton
Olivia Chow
Don Davies
Libby Davies
Paul Dewar
Pat Martin
Brian Masse
Thomas Mulcair
Peter Stoffer

Moving on...

We now have "issues" with this useless campaigning. For starters, the government fell on a motion of non-confidence because committees and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Peter Milliken (conveniently a Liberal) found the government in "contempt" of Parliament. How convenient for the opposition parties...

As for the leaders' debates in Ottawa a couple of weeks ago, which seems like it was just yesterday, Green party leader Elizabeth May was excluded from the debates. Well, I couldn't have been happier at the time. In the 2008 leaders' debates, all she did was interrupt the elected leaders and contributed nothing useful to the conversation. Now, what I found funny was when she complained about the broadcasting consortium that excluded her, but was more than willing to move the French debate to the Wednesday night from the Thursday night because of hockey. Now that is uniquely Canadian.

As for the budget that was not adopted before Parliament was dissolved, I thought it was a pretty good budget, based on what I had heard. More details about Budget 2011, which would have been defeated anyway, can be found here. The budget included a wide range of awesome tax credits, and other cool stuff.

What's noticeable about this year's election is that the number of candidates representing fringe parties is quite low... and it seems like there aren't any, aside from the Green Party of Canada. For instance, in the riding of Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, there were seven parties competing with each other in the 2008 election. This year, there are only three major parties and one fringe party (Green Party of Canada).

What's significant about this year's election is the recent surge of the New Democratic Party of Canada that appears to be here to stay. So, could Jack Layton end up living in Stornoway? We'll have to see. However, before you consider voting for the New Democratic Party of Canada, I urge you to read this article and then read this other article (this one shouldn't be used against Mr. Layton, as it's kind of funny, if it were true... but I kind of doubt that it is). You should also note that Mr. Layton wants to attack "seniors living with poverty." Mr. Layton should have chosen his words more carefully, as he didn't really mean that in its evil context.

Recently, the Conservative Party of Canada announced that a re-elected Conservative government would create an Office of Religious Freedoms. If we're lucky, it will quickly become politicized.

And lastly, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff hasn't made a campaign stop in Saskatoon... I wonder why. In addition to that, he's getting pretty desperate... so he got "feisty" and started using quotes like "Rise up!" However, I find that quote annoying... and I may not be the only person, and could potentially explain why Mr. Ignatieff's poll numbers have been going down even more as of lately. If you ask me, he said the overrated phrase way too many times.

Well, my own nonsensical opinions are now clear. Now, on May 2, 2011, vote Conservative! And as for those of you who wonder why I vote for the Conservative Party of Canada, you will have to consult a small section of this blog update, as I no longer want to explain my position, again. Also, if Kelly Block fails to get re-elected in the riding of Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, I will be very unhappy!

And lastly, it'll be important to see if Helena Guergis manages to get re-elected.