The Honest Truth

Honesty is deeply valued in our society. Yet no one really values the truth.

In fact, we're all a bunch of liars in one way or another.

Let's say you are at the store and the cashier asks you "how are you doing today?"

Your response will likely be good, even if you just came from the dentist after an intensive procedure. The freezing is wearing off and you feel a sudden wave of nausea.

If you were to be honest, you would say: "I'm actually in an immense amount of pain. I feel dizzy and about ready to throw up on your floor."

But no one wants to hear that and so you say: "I'm good. Thanks for asking."

The Internet

The cover story in this week's Macleans magazine is about why the Internet sucks.

The article notes that, at the dawn of the Internet age, idealists believed the world wide web would create an enlightened utopia.

In reality, Google's top 10 searches, last year, were Janet Jackson, hurricane Katrina, tsunami, xBox 360, Brad Pitt, Michael Jackson, American Idol, Britney Spear, Angelina Jolie and Harry Potter.

An enlightened utopia? I think not. I am proud to say I did not google any of those things last year. I did, however, google Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Jake Gyllenhaal. And I like to think of myself as an intellectual. (I'll ignore the laughter).

So what if the Internet celebrates mediocrity through self-indulgent blogs of people who think they can write. And so what if the nut jobs on both the right and left use the Internet to call the mainstream media biased and manipulative because the media is not promoting their said values. If the Internet was gone tomorrow, I would be very disappointed that I couldn't look up the trivia I need to know, like how old my favourite Survivor player is.

Clouds

I'm not much of a joiner, but sometimes there is the odd band wagon you just can't help but jump on, like the Cloud Appreciation Society.

You're not healthy, unless you have an obsession.

Just Justin

I was in my car tonight listening to JT's Justified album when the song "Take it from here" came on.

It begins with JT saying "Sometimes, sometimes the world gets hard."

And much to my surprise I said: "Tell me about it, Justin."

Unfortunately for me, Justin won't be my Broadway show on review, so he can act out how God was when he made me. (I'm not kidding, the lyrics are more or less along those lines).

Debt

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." - Mark Twain

Worldly Fascinations

When the World Karate Tournament was hosted in Canada this past fall, there was a multicultural performance that included First Nation dancers in traditional garb.

The German karate team was very fascinated with the First Nation outfits and had their photos taken with the dancers. Many Canadians certainly would never show that same level of appreciation or interest.

Germans are interested in our "cowboy and Indian" history. I guess they have interests that extend beyond David Hasselhoff.

Future Sex

I want to have FutureSex.

Why do I feel like a lesser person for wanting to buy a Justin Timberlake CD? I guess I don't feel justified in doing so.

Candle Light

I went to my first candle party. It was pure hell. It made me feel cheap.

The seller of the candles, also known as the "consultant," was, of course, a young single mother trying to make a bit of extra cash. (And to be a consultant you have to buy your own catalogues, samples, etc. So the young mother likely had to put up a lot of cash to start this "business.")

The cheapest candle there was $32, but on average most of the merchandise ran for about $85 or more. Did I mention these were candles she was selling?

I'm a writer, so I don't make a lot of money. There is no way I'm dropping $32 on some candle I won't be able to use, because my cat will probably knock it over.

Of course, being the one person who doesn't buy anything, I won the door prize, which was probably paid for out of pocket by the young mother.

The idea behind these parties is that as a guest you are supposed to later volunteer your own home for a party for the consultant to come and sell candles to your own friends and families. Well, most of my friends and family are artists, writers, journalists or work in independent film. They don't have the money either for a $32 candle. So I certainly will not be hosting a party anytime soon.

In the end, I just ate the free food and left, feeling like a cheap and lowly impoverished human being.