Interesting...

Experienced my first bomb threat at my school.


Hilariously, I kept saying, "I bet it's a bomb, y'all," and well, it almost WAS a bomb, y'all!


Lame.

But I got to miss half a day of classes for it!

Also lame because I'm paying for it. =/

TOW: Thanksgiving

This week's thought is brought to you by the number 4. And not just because this week's VOW is Sesame Street inspired. No, it's brought to you by the number four because I'm thinking about the four things that really matter, in anyone's life, and that they need, regardless of who they are.

We all have four basic things to be thankful for: friends, family, mental and physical health. Friends because they make us feel like the world is a safe place, family because they keep us safe when it's not, and our health needs to be good so that we can enjoy our lives and the company of friends and family to the fullest, and so that we can pursue our dreams.

I know that this weekend, I am very thankful for the people that help keep me balanced, and help me remember what is important in my life. I am happy to be spending time in the right kind of way, and I am very happy that I can remember to be thankful for the things that matter.

If we are missing one of those 4 necessary things, somehow life seems a little more bleak, a little less interesting. What I sometimes need to remember, in all the hustle, is that life is meant to be fun, to be enjoyed, and to be spent loving other people. Any other form is simply a shadow of what should be.

So, look for things in the day to be thankful for. Happiness is on the rise, as long as you let it be.

VOW: Feist sings on Sesame Street

Some of you might not know who Feist is (Canadian folk singer), but this video made me feel good over the last couple weeks. It's really cute.

I'M GOING HOME TOMORROW!

WELL TECHNICALLY TODAY.


I WILL SEE MY FAMILY FOR-THE-FIRST-TIME-IN-NINE-MONTHS


*HAPPY SINGING HAPPY SINGING*

IT IS TWO IN THE MOOOORRRNINGGGGG

Videogames are the bane of my existence

I accidentally let a friend in my class send me a video game called Plants vs. Zombies last week and IT TOOK OVER my life. Smiling plants and zombies are clearly my Achilles heel for time wasting.

But I love this game.

TOW: Never Sleeping

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post regularly, you guys. I've just been so busy with my classes, and once one of them finishes in a week and half, I'll have at least part of my sanity back. And I won't be sacrificing sleep for powerpoint presentations.

What I've learned, however, is that I can be a normal, happy, functioning human being on so little sleep I wonder if anyone except me even notices the fact that I'm ab-so-lute-ly losing my mind with tired.

And tonight was supposed to be a night when I got a really, really good nights rest. Thanks, Powerpoint, for freezing on me several times. You really upped my productivity at two in the morning.

VOW: When Life Gives Me Lemons, I Make Lemonade

This video is courtesy of Ginny! Thanks Ginny, for a wonderful example of good children's music!

Night Sky

Found this on Slashdot, where basically 2 scientists travelled on volcano tops and deserts to produce a 360 rotatable, zoomable, 800 megapixel of the night sky. It's all part of the GigaGalaxyZoom project. This should appeal to anyone who wants to treat the night sky like a roller-coaster ride.

TOW: Time Management

Well, this week is all about time management. And I say that with a chuckle because I have very little time to manage these days, and most of the time I do have is getting wasted with sleeping. SLEEPING? WHAT'S SLEEPING?

I think one of the hardest things to remember when we are managing our time is that eventaually the task will end. Lately I've been getting a lot of what I like to call 'task panic'--where I see a task, and the amount of work required literally makes me feel green. I see the mountain in front of me, and unlike what Miley Cyrus says, it's not the climb. It's the potential landslide you can be involved in.

One of the best things to remember, and what I am learning in my project management class, is how to manage time efficiently and how to break down tasks and group work to not get swamped. And honestly, I am surprised at how lucky I am that I have such a great group of individuals to work with over this year. It's going to make my life a lot easier.

I think at the end of the day, I need to remember, that nothing is as bad as its seems, and that I'll find a way to manage, in some way. Eventually I'll see a way for me to manage my time effectively, and, eventually, it won't involve me cutting into more than two hours of my sleep schedule.

VOW: Greatest Youtube Hits in 4 minutes

This is apparently a really good explanation of everything that's ever been on youtube that people have watched. What do you think?

I'm Siiiiiiiick =(

And everyone in my class looked at me like I was death warmed over today. But, they were really nice about it, all things considered. =)

Posting to resume this weekend

Hey friends,

I've been busy, sick, tired, and now I'm getting behind on a few things, so posting will have to wait until this weekend. =)

Bush coming to Saskatoon???

Apparently.

This is the facebook group that is in protest of George Bush giving a speech in Saskatoon, and the group labels him as a war criminal.

I find it hard to disagree, but does anyone with more of in touch with Saskatoon know what the cultural vibe is in this city?

Whew

Today I

Edited a small writing piece
Read up on my journalist I'm following for a class
Spent 6 hours in class
Researched Canadian Public Relations Society
Opened a new blog, again (I know, I know, I just don't wanna mix my personal and pr blog. Sigh.)
Figured out how to use Share This
Figured out IE8 is useless
Went to the gym
Made myself some greek pitas
Watched some internet tv
Updated Twitter
Read up on 800 headlines in the news (THAT was really boring)
Updated Facebook...now almost everyone in my class is my 'friend!' =)
Linked my Facebook to Blogger

And surprisingly, I've been fairly productive! Unfortunately, I WANTED to start working on one of two writing assignments, and I have my outline for the PR project I'm doing independently, really, due tomorrow as my personal deadline, and tomorrow is drinks-with- classmates day! I will post pictures when I have them. I love everyone in my class currently!

May it stay that way! =)


I'm off to bed, I'm already cutting my sleep short. But I excercised, and that will make all the difference.

New Planet

They discovered a new planet, called Corot-7b. Looks veerrrrry cool.

Sounds very star-trek-y to me. =)

TOW: Facebook

Yes, yes, I have recieved multiple mails, many messages, and now there are people poking my wall (AND WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN???) about my recent attempt to join the latest wave of stupidity in this universe.

That's a pretty insulting statement to social media, but I want to make something really clear, which is that I love social media. The problem that I have is that I am upset by the world I live in because social media actually prevents people from connecting at a higher level. No need to call, mail, or, *gasp* talk in person?!?!? Who are you? Is there a high-speed connection for that?

I want to use social media as a way to connect with my friends, family, co-workers and frenemies on another level to further enhance my socialability. The point is, I'm pretty darn social already. I think if I was any more social at this rate, I would be losing my mind. Especially since working two jobs, going to school for 30-ish hours a week and having group projects, and an independent PR assignment along with volunteering is starting to make me think my plate is a little full, and I accidentally walked into an all-you-can-eat-buffet-and-did-I-tell-you-that-I'm-part-of-Overeaters-Anonymous? What's that? Try the spring rolls? OK!

Sigh.

All that besides, using facebook, and understanding what it is and who it is meant to target is really quite interesting. It's a powerful machine to connect with people, but as per usual, the drama associated with all this connection is killing me.

Long story short, Facebook is a powerful tool.

But be careful, or Facebook might make a powerful tool out of you.

VOW: Celebrity Twitter Overkill

Again, SuperNews for the win. This is exactly how I felt about twitter as soon as it came out, and became a celeb thing.

I just joined Facebook

I feel sick.

I seriously feel vile and ill.

I'm officially joining facebook as we speak =(

Sigh.

I avoided it for so long, because I REALLY didn't want to do it.

But now I need to do it for work and school.

Sigh....

Why did I wanna join Public Relations again?


=)

TOW: School...Again?!?!?!

Tomorrow I start school in Public Relations....for what is the third degree/diploma/random piece of paper to show how amazing I am, etc. and even though I have 'started a new year' approximately 6-7 times, I'm still nervous about my first day, and yes-I-DID-pick-out-an-outfit-for-the-first-day-thank-you-very-much. And no, I don't have everything organized, because I've been working like crazy these past weeks at my other job(s) so it's been just too too much.

Sigh.

But, looking back on my previous school career, I am really, really, going to try and turn this into something that makes me happy/keeps me eating. So, I have devised ways to make this happen:

i) Lots of studying
ii) lots of planning in advance (Nail that internship! Turn in best work for classes, not night-before-garbage! Create amazing portfolio!)
iii) Treating this like it is a step I need to take into a career, not a bubble that will save me from the world for approximately eight months.
iv) Taking steps I need to make sure I compliment this year with other educational opportunities, like classes, seminars, and valuable volunteer opportunities.
v) Making sure that I also take time out to do things I really like, thus making this a valuable life experience, and giving me the energy I need to be happy, and succeed. Like working with youth, nights where I sketch and do art, and blog, as well, since I love doing this.

Sounds like a plan, right?

We'll see if I'm a motivated man come December.

Because heaven knows...student life...is so nice. I can't help it, I really do love it, and it makes me lazy. Sigh.

I have been thinking a lot about this, and I'm really blessed that I'm starting school three months earlier than I planned. Originally, I was supposed to start in January, but I guess I was on the wait list, and it actually worked out just fine for me. But, we'll see if I can handle this crazy college lifestyle.

I dunno, dude friends!

VOW: Milkman vs. Mailman

I loved this sketch.

I've known about this comedy troupe for a bit, but this is easily my fave.

Galaxy Eats Itself?

There's an interesting science article on the bbc website about the Andromeda Galaxy eating stars. While I can honestly say I don't fully understand this, I am reminded of my Silver Surfer days where his boss kept trying to eat the Earth.

TOW: Transitions

I heard an interesting quote a while ago, while discussing the face of change, and it goes like this: "It's not the end, it's just a new beginning." So, it's not the last piece of pie you just ate, it's the beginning of a new source of bulge around your hips. While this is poignant, I also feel that there is something else to transitions in our lives. Transitions are periods where we feel a strange combination of bored and resentful to our current circumstances.

Take my life, for example. I've been a working man for, I would say, a total of a year now. I've changed jobs 5 times, moved 3 times (moving on to the 4th very soon!) and skimmed the poverty line twice. But now I'm going back to school for a professional program, and planning to stream-line myself back into the real world. You know, that place...that place...I don't go to on a regular basis. Eh heh. Sigh.

But this time I see being a student much, much differently. Yes, I'm going to have a good time. Yes, I plan to slack off whenever possible and stay up late and eat candy and make plenty of friends. But more importantly, I'm going to put a stamp on everything that I do that says, "BRENNAN DID THIS AND IT'S AMAZING." Because I can see that previously, in my student career, sometimes I took it a little too easy...and I didn't try as hard as I coulda-shoulda-woulda. Because, like we all do, sometimes we hold back so that in case we fail, it won't hurt as much.

Having lived on the brink of life-failure for the last year or so, I have come to realize that life is not about succeeding the normal sense of the word (although it is a pleasant feeling) it's about what you do after you succeed. Some people are haunted by their past successes, and the feeling that haunts them is the very feeling that prevents them from transitioning...from making the leap into the you and me we were meant to be. If we don't make that leap, we end up in a limbo...in a place where we can't manage who we are because we've stop learning, stopped caring, and stopped being ourselves. And transitions were meant to be times of success, not times of failure.

Real success, as far as I can tell, isn't about the successes we have, but how we manage to transition after our fleeting spotlight moment has passed. Moving from success to success is the only way to live a life worth living. And we all deserve to move from failure into success.

Because it's never the end; it's just a new beginning.

VOW: Miley Cyrus- Party in the USA

When I first saw this, I nearly fell off my bed I was laughing so hard. I don't think I've been this amused in quite a while.

TOW: Tired

HI guys and gals,

I'm sorry I haven't posted here lately, but my sleep schedule has been really outta whack. I've been tired at weird times in the day, and then really wide awake at others, so it's throwing me for a bit of a loop. I've been sleeping lots, just not always at the best times. Heh.

Sleeping takes a certain kind of discipline, and some days it's just not there for me, I guess.

More postings coming later! I just need some time to organize myself! Things are sickly crazy right now.

VOW: Thread Count

I thought this was pretty clever.

Officially an Ontarian

I'm now a registered Ontarian resident with an Ontario Health Card, and an Ontario Driver's Licence.

Scary. =)

TOW: The Dark Side of Acceptance

I've been reflecting a lot on my choices, and what sort of choices have been good choices over the last few months, and which choices have been bad. In reference to the principle of make-do-ability, there's a lot of good in the choices I've made. We should make do with what we have, not with what we wish we had.

Yet, in reflecting on the signs in our lives, when something is not working, we often create our own problems by avoiding them or simply enduring them. For example, when a friend takes advatange of us, we think, "Oh, it's ok. I'll be the bigger person in this case." Or if we get a bad grade, or a bad review from someone, we often think, "Oh, it happens. I just need to roll with the punches." And it is this attitude that tends to make our personal problems blow up in our faces, pie in the face style. And like Mom says, eat your food, don't wear it.

Rolling with the punches is one thing. Living with unlivable situations is completely different. The dark side of accepting is accepting the unacceptable. (Like watching The Hills for more than five minutes...it's enough to make most humans go stark raving mad. *Shudder*)

My mom, a wise lady, once had a conversation with me that's stuck with me. We were discussing choices in life, and I spouted the platitude that 'Beggars can't be choosers.' My mom turned to me and looked at my like I was a foreign species of zebra, and said, "Brennan, they can."

And she's right. We all have free will. And we shouldn't accept things that aren't working in our lives and let them bleed and fester. The more they do, the larger the explosion later in life, and the greater the personal detriment. So, look your problems in the face and like Trooper says, "If your life is all messed up, rearrange it." Or be prepared to endure the unendurable.

Good luck with that.

VOW: Cakey!

Cakey! is some sort of bizzare out of space flying, talking, magical cake. This video reminds me of why the 80s were great. Logical plot line? Who needs a logical plot line? Insert problem, and random cast of characters, and some synth beats! THAT'S GOOD TV.

Going to the High Park Shakespeare Theatre with Sarah!

This was a great picture of Sarah, who is now a proud new owner of a Blackberry. That's what you get for taking a high paying government job, Sarah. =)

Hilariously, They said no pictures within the theatre area, but I snapped one of Sarah. IMMEADIATELY, one of the volunteers nazis came up and requested I delete the picture. I told him it was just of my friend, not of the stage or anything like that. After I explained everything he was ok with me. And then he moved onto the next photographer in the crowd and hassled THAT guy. =)

We watched the Tempest, and I WISH we could have taken photos...the set is BEAUTIFUL, and best of all, the play was FREE! (With a suggested donation of $20, of course...and that rule is pretty heavily enforced. I never knew artists could be so vigilant.)

My First Blue Jays Game!

We saw the Blue Jays play the Orioles!








Travis and I went together! =D





You'll notice that the seats we got were of the $62 variety. They were complimentary tickets, sure, but they were amazing seats...right in front of the line to first base on the ground level. Travis had to meet some Italian guy at gate 11 before the game to get them...we're both positive he's part of the mafia.






And THIS was the amazing grill burger we got from one of the burger stands. And at $11 a burger, you can believe I enjoyed that thing.



Overall, the game experience was really enjoyable...I think I'll go again! =D

TOW: Signs

Ah, you can really tell summer is here. The birds are singing, the sun is shining, the smog and humidity are finally making it difficult to breathe, and the garbage strike in Toronto has resolved itself (at least hypothetically.) I'm not going to use this post to talk about politics or anything quite that heavy, but what I am going to do other than regret the entire bag of salt and vinegar chips I just ate, is talk a little about the signs. No, no, not like a stop sign. (Although someone really should have handed ME one before I thought of eating what I just ate.) I'm talking about 'The SIGNS, MAN." It's just like Five Man Electric Band says, "Long-haired freaky people need not apply" because signs, signs--everywhere a sign, man.

This is certainly a matter for debate, but I personally think the signs that we should pay attention to are the little events that pop up in our lives to tell us if what we're doing is futile or really worth something. Because there are go, yield, and stop signs in all of our lives. But most of all, we should read the signs in our life to see if we're on the right path.

Ever heard the tale of Fool's Gold? No? There were many people that went to Alaska during the Gold Rush to try and make their way in life. Most people died up there, or came back penniless. However, one man decided to stay, his while life, to try and find gold. Then, after years and years of struggle and nearly giving up, he put his pickaxe into the ground, and out came what seemed like a huge gold vein. He carried it all back, and thought he had finally struck it rich. Imagine his surprise when he took it to be evaluated, and all he came up with was a bunch of worthless rock. But hey, who doesn't want some pyrite? Am I right? Right?

I'm a big believer in the idea that if something is meant to happen, problems will get out of your way, and you'll attract your own prosperity. When things are going all wrong, and everything is completely out of whack, that is the time when you really, absolutely have to ask: "Where am I heading? Do I really want to do x, y, or z? What benefit does it give me to continue versus try something new? Why is life getting in my way all of a sudden?" Usually when things are falling behind is a sign of the times. Namely, to shape up and recognize what life is trying to tell you.

Don't just smell the roses--note when the thorns are jabbing into your fingers.

VOW: Just Because

I can't embed the video, but you should check out this band, just released this single. I really like the music video, and it's a neat concept, and they even made a game out of the video. Smart viral campaign. =)

TOW: Breaking Up

Hey guys,

I just recently broke up with someone, and it's throwing me for a bit. So I'm sorry I had a thought of the week, but my current thought is: Man, breaking up. It really sucks.


But it'll get better with time. I'm really finding music is helping, and I am also keeping really busy, and it's good for me. I can feel the real Brennan I like to be all over again. And it'll keep getting better.


All the time.

=)

VOW: All My Little Words

I've had this one for a while...I really dig it.

TOW: Small Steps

Sometimes, in life, it's not about the big steps that matter. It's about those tiny little steps that lead us further into happiness or misery. I'm not saying that life doesn't have extremes, but the less life surprises us, the gentler the satisfaction of each kind of happiness and the greater sense of each kind of sadness.

VOW: Rejected DiGiornno Commercial

Quite funny

Busy

Hi guys and gals,

I have been busy with many things these days, but I am doing alright, and I will post sometime this week for TOW and VOW. I have a bunch of other things to put on here, but it's a matter of time versus...well, time. Takes time to make time.

=)

TOW: Potential

I have been working a lot lately, and all of the working, and commuting, and life changes have got me thinking (as per usual, eh heh). This time, I'm thinking about that one great thing poet wax and wane about, that one thing in any good Hollywood movie, or any early 90's children's cartoon...and I'm not talking about fame, fortune, or contract residuals from the upcoming Harry Potter movie. No, I'm talking about the one thing everyone has. Or doesn't have. Or almost has. And it's staring at you in the face, every day. Well, almost. It's 50% staring at you. It's sort of kind of staring. Well, it might be staring at you. If you let it stare.

Ahem.

Potential is something that people talk about every day. People have the potential to change. Change is possible if we just reach out and grasp it because the future (potentially) could be better. Potential, potential, potential, etc. And the worst (and the best) part of potential is that it hasn't been realized yet. You get to dream, but it's also sucky because you're dreaming. Why CAN'T I be a millionaire with a million people who are my friends and have the best life ever???
I bet I could. I think I have it in me. Maybe.

Nietzsche, who I seem to be talking a lot about these days, was very interested in human potential. He saw the human being as something not only be completed, to be a full person that exists in the world; he saw humanity as something to be surpassed. And that is a very interesting thought. And that is a very interesting thought because nowadays every catch-phrase, every slogan, and every itty-bitty piece of advertising is about surpassing ourselves and becoming more than we already are. In other words, we all live very Nietzschean lifestyles. (Which, depending who you ask, isn't a bad thing.) And Nietzsche's values aren't wrong...there is something very fulfilling about the idea of surpassing yourself from where you are now, to becoming, potentially, greater than you ever imagined you could be.

What we need in our lives is a balance of dreaming about the things we could be, and having the drive to turn that potential into reality. And that balance is a hard thing to strike. There are real steps we need to take to make our potential would-be selves come to life. We all have dreams that need realizing...but unless we take steps to make our lives better, the future we imagine will only remain a potential dream. And the regrets we have, as they say, are, potentially, the mistakes that we didn't make, and not the ones that we did.

VOW: Camel Jumping

Unfortunately, the embed link is not working for some reason, so I recommend you check out the link, here.


This is actually really amazing. I'm surprised that they got so many people interested in doing this.

TOW: Make-do-ability

I know, I know, I owe you like, a week's worth of thinking and videoing. It's not happening. I used to be very anal about following my own rules with updating, but as I'm sure we all find--life gets in the way. And when life gets in the way, we make do. And this, my friends, is called the principle of make-do-ability.

Lately, I have been making ends meet and making things work by as random means as I can manage. And frankly, my life gets more random by the day. The good thing about all of this, of course, is that I can make do with all of my circumstances, all of my craziness, as long as someone bloody pays me, talks to me, listens to me, and we can all get on with life in the way we please...most of the time.

There are times in life, and moments in your day, when you realize that something is not going to worked the way you planned. However, alongside that thought, you also realize that to complete the task at hand, you might just have to make do with what you have. And whether that make-do is lemons making lemonade or being stuck with an elephant in a small room somewhere, sometimes you do just have to make do with what you have.



And the key to all of this making do--is realizing what you do have, and using it. And that's a pretty special skill, according to the wise.

VOW: Sea Pig

I thought I would introduce you to one of the nets top most comic you-tube celebrities, in case you haven't ever watched him...he talks a lot about Canada Day. Which, er, I did...not.

TOW to follow later this eve!

Soooo busy

Hey guys,

I've had a lot of early and late shifts, so I might not update until Canada Day, which I am totally looking forward to this year, by the way!

TOW: In A Pinch

This week I have been thinking a lot about 'life phases.' I keep thinking about how people who are not even 20, and they have managed to become rich, famous, or have some sort of really interesting accolade. And then I keep thinking about how they got there, and I wonder where person x, y, and z will be in 20, 25 years. I wonder this because the way that life works...no one stays on top of the ferris wheel forever. This month, in honour of the recession, I am thinking about financial well-being.



It's interesting that each of us can probably point to a time in their lives when they were really, really poor and couldn't afford the things their friends and family could. Making ends meet by pinching pennies, and tightening belts, the future was seen as the key to happiness because somewhere, in the future, was financial stability. I do think it's a pretty universal problem, and something that most people experience once or twice in their lives (and if you haven't yet, you're either very lucky, or it's right around the corner, I imagine. Good luck with that.).



Why is it such a universal problem that we either lose a job, or the markets come crashing down on our heads, or we somehow end up with a bankrupt business? Sometimes we make all the right decisions, and still come out with mothballs in our pockets, and a sour taste in our mouths.



I think the reason that we have these periods in our lives is so that we can appreciate the happiness we do have. These times are good examples of moments to reconsider not only what is important in our lives, but also to start new projects, to branch out into new areas we never thought we would be in. The beauty of being in a period of financial failure is yes, we get to appreciate the periods of our lives that're financially successful...but it's also something more complex and worthwhile. It's a time to grow in a new direction, to experience new things, good and bad. And we get to build up other things in our lives, and to let them be the centre of our lives, to learn to live without monetary stability, but with the stability of friends, family, and care for ourselves.

VOW: Sculpting with Solid Mercury

I thought my engineering friends might find this interesting...I personally can't believe how much work this takes.

Wiki-mania: A guide of how to talk to a guy on the phone (A compilation of several wikis)

On the phone:

1. Before calling, think of what you can talk about. What does he like? Did you do anything with him today that you can talk about? Anything he should know or anything? You can even write down a list of topics to go through, but don't read off of them like a script, make it casual and impromptu.

2. Once you have an idea, take a few deep breaths. What do you have to lose? Seriously, think about it. Now call! Just do it!

3. When someone answers and it isn't the person, ask for the person who you want to talk to. And make sure you say something like "Hi, this is ______. May I please speak to _______?" or something like that. NEVER say your his girfriend if you've never called his house and he doesn't even know your name. Guys hate that.

4. When this person says "Hi" or "hello" do not start off with something like "Whatcha doin'?" Do start with "How are you?"Guys usually know the answer to that question. They usually answer the question of what they are doing with 'talking on the phone.' It's annoying!

5. Avoid asking questions like what color do you like, what is your favorite food.. that type of question is really common. Try to be a little innovative and interesting. Get in a conversation. Try asking him something about school ("Why do you think our school mascot is a squirrel?"), or sports ("Do you like fishing? Yah, same with my dad."), or anything interesting.

6. Find an excuse to call that person you like. Homework questions are a good one ("Hey, did you ever finish that essay in English? Oh, you never read the book? Yah, me neither.")

7.) Once you get into a conversation, there is nothing to worry about unless you somehow insult him, but that's unlikely, and easily fixed if you somehow manage to. ("What, you like lasangna? That's stupid. I mean...that's stupid that I don't like lasangna as much as you. Weird!")

8.) If you get his cell phone machine dealie, then leave a cool and goofy message. Guys LOVE that....especially when you laugh a lot in between things (actually more of a giggle!!!). But don't giggle too much...guys hate that! They think you'll have asthma or sometihng!!!


Tips

If you can't remember what to say to him then write it down on a piece of paper beforehand.

Don't call him more than 2-3 times a day.

TOW: Life in the Fast Lane

Has anyone else recently felt like things are moving really fast in their lives? I kind of feel like a lot of people recently, in my life, have made a lot of big decisions that effect them positively, things that move them 'a step up in life.' What is interesting, however, is how fast things seem to be changing. Feel like there's not enough time to smell the roses? Do you even remember what roses look like? Then you are probably living life in the fast lane, so to speak.

We often get told that moving fast is a bad thing...that we should take time to appreciate our surroundings, and to enjoy each moment of each day. Never rush, always appreciate everything that is in your life, etc. Like the moment when you wake up and realize you're running late. Wake-up, stretch, smile, and enjoy your day.

Right.

I find this platitude flies in the face of our common sense. I always want something to be right now instead of later, and I'm willing to put aside appreciating things for a little while until I get what I want. I suppose this is a kind of utilitarianism, where we would say, "I am putting aside some smaller pleasures, for some higher pleasures." (By the way, utilitarianism is usually a bad idea, so don't make it your ethical system of choice if you can help it, k?) But in general, we often feel justified living at this faster pace because we feel that we fit and cram so much more into our lives.

Sometimes relationships, events, and just life moves faster than can be appreciated. Usually, we will have a period, later in our lives, where we can appreciate those changes. But the joys of living out our lives is not always in appreciating what we have, but striving for something further.

And that's a pretty fast way of saying live your life to the fullest.

VOW: Guitar Hero Solo

This kid is amazing. Apparently he makes money doing guitar hero.

Nice!

Sarah's WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me tell you, this was one fantastic shin-dig. If I get married, I only hope it can be as un-awkward as Sarah and Mike's wedding. (And hopefully, I can serve just as nice food. Yum.) Picture time!





This is Sarah and her friends looking around and thinking, 'Wow, there's a lot of people here considering neither Sarah or Mike get out too much. Who knew being a homebody could bring forth such a great crowd of peeps?"





This is Jess and Sarah's sister, Julia. Julia was hilarious as usual, and Jess was wearing hot red shoes. And Julia, for some reason, looks like she's had too-too many drinks. =)




Us relaxing on top of 10 Younge Street, one of the building right by the lake. Well, everyone is relaxing except Sarah, you know how many smiley pictures she had to take? =) Surrounded by Chris and Briana.





Of course, I got a picture with her, as well. Dig my new haircut? Aren't we great together? Can you tell Sarah isn't even looking at the camera? =D




I love this picture of Briana and Chris. It shows the quirky side of Briana and the taller side of Chris. Nice candid, dudes.





This is Sarah, Mr. DeDecker (who commanded me to refer to him as 'Ed'), and Julia. Aren't they great together? Mr. DeDecker is a scream, by the way. Really fantastic guy, you can tell why Sarah and Julia are so great because of him and Mrs. Dedecker.





"What's that Brennan, you're going to put all the wedding pics on your BLOG? No way!" Yes way, Sarah. Yes. Way.





Mr. Dedecker during one of several VERY short speeches. He made a couple of really good jokes. Mrs. Dedecker is standing right next to him.





Sarah gives a speech on the behalf of her and Mike. You can tell she's trying not to tear up. It was really sweet.




Sarah and Mike finish their speech, and stand their while everyone claps. It was also a short, but very beautiful speech.







They then cut the cake. As you can see, someone decided to rearrange the position of the bride, who was supposed to be cutting the cake. I still think it's cute in a morbid kind of way.





Mrs. Dedecker plays the piano. It was followed by Briana on guitar, but I don't have pictures of that because I was part of the, er, dancing section of the song. It's a long story. I definitely did the twist several times during the eve, however.


After all the festivities, I waved goodbye to Sarah, as I went home to sleep before working early, and she went to enjoy the party before taking a flight to the UK for a week.

Congrats, Sarah and Mike. You're both really great.

My Egg-ellent Quiche! =D

I would be lying if I said I didn't take four to five photos of this.

I love cooking. =)

This was a crustless quiche with eggs, cherry tomatoes green onions and a really sharp cheese.

Highly Recommended, but maybe next time I'll add ham. =)

VOW: High Blood Pressure

I'm positive I must have shared this sometime, but it's funny enough I wanted to post it again. LOL. Also, you'd be surprised at how much unfunny video I've watched recently. =/

TOW: Murphy's Law

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Why is it that every time I try to do something properly I screw up not just a little bit, but frankly, I screw up fantastically???" Like today when I zipped up my backpack in a lazy way, and it opened without me noticing, and a really nice pair of sports socks fell out of it. You, my friend, are being subjected to Murphy's Law. And yes, it sucks. Big time.

Murphy's Law states, "If anything can go wrong it will." This was named after Capt. Edward Murphy (or some unnamed physicist, if you believe Wikipedia.) who actually said that "If there are two ways of doing something, and one of them results in a catastrophe, then someone will do it." Murphy was later misquoted, and eventually his original statement turned into "If anything can go wrong, it will." Well, this statement holds true for Murphy's Law, apparently. Nothing like making a really interesting statement, and then being misquoted as something completely different.

The beauty of Murphy's Law, is that it expresses, very well, the general feeling of frustration all of us have when we make mistakes. Because usually the first mistake we make is always the biggest. Or most embarassing. Now, when this happens on a larger scale, like with engineering, this is a huge issue, but when it happens in our own lives, it's just as depressing.

In philosophy terms, Murphy's Law is not the same as fortune/fate. It's not 'Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down." Murphy's Law is commenting on the fact that human error causes human problems. Big Problems. Like, remember that time you thought it would be a good idea to get your cat to play with the pitbull next door? Or how standing next to the speakers at an ACDC concert was going to be be a good idea even after your ears started bleeding because you were having a good time? What about the purple mumu you're wearing?

The reason most people like Murphy's Law is that it says to us, "Hey, don't be stupid. Pay attention! Your actions have meaning!" It's a sign of affirming free will...in a really embarassing way.

Like how I forgot to zip up my back-pack. Dang it!

Seriously

Today I have:

i) Worked for seven hours
ii) went to the library and did research
iii) went to the gym
iv) had a nap
v) Did the dishes
vi) made a meal from scratch
vii) Walked the dog
vii) replied to my e-mails
viii) Helped my brother write an essay in one evening
ix) Talked on the phone with friends


I'm so productive today and I have no idea how I did it.

VOW: The Evil Look

You might have seen this already, but I love it, so in the theme of all things baby, feel free to watch and laugh.

TOW: I'm an uncle!

I've never been an uncle before. Congrats to my little brother, Adam, with his new boy, Evan. It's a lot to think about.

News Link: Some people never learn

Apparently, a niche programming-oriented website called phpbb.com had thousands of user passwords stolen because people were using all the kinds of passwords they weren't supposed to use, like '123456' or 'abc123,' etc. I find it hilarious, that even for websites that're hobbies, people don't put slightly more sophisticated passwords.

I mean, really, how difficult is it to write '654321'?

TOW: Waiting

Have you ever waited for something, hoping it will happen? Have you ever thought, "I wish I was doing (insert 'x' here) right NOW? Why do I have to wait? I hate waiting. Waiting sucks! Sucks-Sucks-Sucks! Arrrrgggggghhhh!" (I'm sure some people insert different words here and there when they're frustrated with waiting, but different strokes for different folks.) Did you know that we spend an average of 2-3 years of our lives waiting in line to pay for something? Isn't that CRAZY? Now, there is waiting in line of many kinds, whether at the grocery store, or a Marilyn Manson concert, which can be annoying, but even more irritating, is waiting for answers. Argh! Aren't you tired of this blog post? Don't you just want it to end and for me to tell you the secret of life??!! AUGH!

I know that I hate waiting for information after I've requested it several times. I know my mother hates waiting in traffic, often to the point of verging on homicidal behaviour to the drivers around her. Everyone has something they hate waiting for. And waiting, often, is an annoying interruption in that smooth, smooth cycle of life.

Strangely enough, there is a philosophy of waiting. And not surprisingly, one of the most irritating philosophers of all time, Martin Heidegger, just happens to have all the philosophical answers in regards to waiting. Weird, but you're going to have to wait to the next paragraph to get an explanation.

Heidegger said that when people find themselves unexpectedly waiting, with nothing to do, nothing to distract them, they begin to feel what Heidegger calls angst. We feel like there is 'nothing' we can do, and this makes us feel, really, consciously, our place in the world. Sometimes when we are caught unexpectedly waiting, we're really there, and not off day-dreaming about owning a mansion, or making lists in our head, etc. We feel bored, and pensive. And usually we don't like it. We would rather be living in that mansion in our head, or doing something else, anything else, but waiting. When we feel angst, or anxiety, we often feel compelled to waste our time with something trivial, something meaningless, to prevent us from having to focus on ourselves, on being-in-the-world.

However, Heidegger also said that there was a big difference between living authentically, and living inauthentically. We shouldn't be afraid of those periods of waiting we experience. When we experience angst, it's one of our few chances to motivate ourselves to make real change in our lives. The rest of the time, well, we're waiting until the next time we wake up from our usual dream state of smooth, smooth living. Because every moment should be valuable, and it's usually only when we're waiting, that we realize we don't always use our time to its fullest.


And yeah, I know I missed two TOWs.

Sorry for the wait. =)

VOW: Cheese Rolling Competition 2008

Quoting the author of the video:

From the 2008 Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake, where every year fearless competitors from around the world tumble down an almost vertical hill in Gloucester, UK, chasing an 8lb Double Gloucester Cheese. It can never really be caught as it reaches breakneck speeds, but the first person to cross the line at the bottom of the hill wins the coveted cheese. Thousands of spectators turned up to watch again this year, and there were also a few of the usual injuries. Thankfully St John's Ambulances were on hand to whisk the casualties away to the local hospital.

In other words: Best sports competion, EVER.

Thoughtless?

Hey guys and gals,

Alex is here, so I might wait until this weekend to do a thought of the week. It certainly helps that I have had to do a lot of writing this week for other things. =)

I will post this weekend sometime!

HUZZAH! MY FIRST PIECE OF SWAG!

I finally got my first music interview published here, and my next interview will be published in June's issue. The best part is that the band gave me a free cd! I'm so popular I don't know what to do with myself!

=D

TOW: Overindulgence

That is the LAST time I eat two bags of salty and sweet popcorn in one sitting.

End of thought of the week.

VOW: Monster Feature

I won't lie to you. I would love to see this film. Video courtesy of Chris this week.

Swine Flu in SK

Finally, two ladies visited Mexico from Saskatchewan and got the flu. Anyone else surprised at how many women are getting the flu? Most cases I've heard it's been women. =/

So much for retreating to the land-bound province to avoid the next plague. Thanks, globalization.

Hail, Stephen

Has anyone else heard the speech that Harper made to troops in Afghanistan? Does it bother anyone else that Harper says " We are grateful/sorrowful for our Fallen Comrades"? Anyone?

I'm personally disturbed.

TOW: Are Newspapers Dying?

I read a very interesting article about the 'first' death of newspapers that happened back in 1918. The debts were high, people thought that democracy would be absolutely crushed by the loss of multiple views in the press. After all, with only one morning daily, how can a big city survive? They need more opinions, more views, more takes on a singular subject. How can we LIVE without ten different people talking about one thing in a physical rag? How???

As someone who is planning on going into the great field of public relations, there is something to be said for the art of 'spin.' Spin, as defined by the all-seeing Wikipedia, is "is providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure". The point of spin is to influence people one way or another. Now, there are good uses of spin, and bad uses of spin, but in relation to the death of the newspaper, we are seeing the advent of a good kind of spin. Why is that? That's because there are less political relationships associated with publishers. There aren't as many top-down relations in the media now. Now people have the right and the ability to access media in a variety of ways, thanks to the advent of the Internet. (Unless you live in China. Sorry, China.)

More and more, media is represented by one person, versus a group of people with a similar goal. (Although group of dedicated individuals sometimes blog together in one online space.) and more people who represent nothing but themselves, an expert commentator. In other words, it's sort of like the invention of the telephone. We are brought infinitely closer to experts in less time than ever before.

However, while certainly, the article says that the newspaper is not dying, they are somewhat mistaken. Because physically, the newspaper is dying. There are fewer reasons to use a newspaper, and a major reason that keeps the newspaper alive, namely ad revenue,
used to be supplied by classified ads. But as anyone who uses the Internet knows, you can easily meet your needs on the internet, usually for free. As well, advertisers are finding, statistically, that advertising is not as effective as it was in the past. So, while most newspapers might survive online, I doubt they will continue to thrive in the same way they have in the future. Given the economic crisis, combined with the green culture springing up left and right, it might be time for somebody to yell, 'Stop the presses.'

VOW: Twitter

What I think about Twitter. ;)

TOW: Praise

This thought of the week will probably be shorter than the rest of them, partly because I'm behind in my errands this week to begin with, and partly because well, it's only a short thought needed. Because you know you're pretty good, right? Like, super awesome? In fact, so AMAZING you know how HOT YOU ARE WHEN YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR, SEXY BLOG READER.

Praisie doesn't need to go on for a long time to really have a positive effect. In fact, most of the praise that is valuable, and that we treasure, is usually a one-liner of 'yeah, not bad' from the surliest person we know. (And this individual is usually that authority figure we can't help but admire and dislike at the same time .) And praise is really valuable...in fact, it's usually one of the few things that gives us hope when we start to doubt our ability to carry on with life.

Of course, too much of a good thing can be a problem, as well. The reason some people have really big heads is because they are praised all the time, and come to expect other people to praise them on a regular basis. (Like me. Har har.) Praise can have both positive and negative effects. However, most of us are not that likely to get so much praise as to get a swelled head.

And that's the sad truth. Because one thing a teacher once said to me, and he's a great teacher, is that "Praising someone is like bringing water to someone in a desert." And I think he was right. Nobody would ever say they receive enough, or too much, praise. There are certain circumstances where it might seem that way, but generally speaking, it's rare for us compliment people we like, since we assume they already know how we feel about them. (And it's even rarer for us to compliment people we don't like.)

So, for this week, maybe think about giving a compliment or praise someone for something you appreciate. Because the more you vocalize good feelings, the more those good feelings spread out into the world. Sort of like a really happy, sappy, influenza virus or something. And you'll make the world a better place just by you being in it.

Because you're just that great.

=)

VOW: Mumps

This was made by the government of Ontario. Surprisingly large view number for something that was made by the government.

Happy Earth Day!

The Earth Day Movement might have started in Wiscousin, but Canada definitely participates in Earth Day. Actually, they just released a new piece on how green each Canadian province is, from best to worst:



1) B.C.

2) Ontario

3) Yukon

4) Nunavut

5) Alberta

6) Saskatchewan

7) Nova Scotia

8) Manitoba

9) Quebec

10) New Bruinswick

11) Newfoundland-Labrador

12) P.E.I.


What I am REALLY surprised is how high Ontario is on this list. Toronto is not exactly green, and on top of that, there's a lot of auto production in this province. Not surprised that Nunavut is high on the list for environmentally safe. That place has about 29,474 living there, and frankly, if it was its own country, it would be one of the 20 largest countries in the world.

TOW: Fear

One of my biggest fears is the fear of failure. I like being successful, and I normally only take calculated risks...which means I take risks that have a 75% chance of being successful. This week has been interesting for me because as I start to set up my summer and fall, I am facing a lot of decisions of where I want to live, who I want to be, what clothes I want to wear, etc. etc. And all of that can be really, really, scary. (Especially choosing what clothes I want to wear.) Granted, maybe not as scary as standing between Oprah and her Double Cheeseburger, but scary, nonetheless.

The funny thing about fear is that we are often afraid of things we know we have no reason to fear. I'm scared of spiders. I know that fear is irrational; in my country, I have a better chance of being eaten by a bear than killed by a spider bite. And yet, there it is, fear itself, staring me in the face, with its ugly eight legs, and its beady red eyes. I have the heebee-jeebees just thinking about it.

Just like a fear of spiders, often our fear of the future is irrational and strange. Suprisingly, we aren't afraid of potential failure, but possible successes. We all know we have been unsuccessful at times, and we know what that feels like...but being a superstar in lights, with everyone looking at you like you're The Next Big Thing? TNBT??? What's that like? I might be happy and stuff! Eeeek!

It's easy to be unsuccessful, people do it every day. Some people do it while playing Trivial Pursuit. Some people do it with New Year's Resolutions. Honestly, it's pretty easy to be unsuccessful without even trying. For some reason apathy and being unsuccessful go hand in hand. Weird.

It's scary thinking we can actually be successful at the things we want. We worry that we might like it less than the current state we're in. We're afraid to want things we want in life in case they're bad for us, right?

Descartes, the french philosopher, didn't say many things that impressed me, but did say one thing that has stuck with me whenever I am afraid. In his words, "the usual fault herein is not that we desire too much, but too little."

What Descartes is saying is that when we desire, we usually desire simple, animal things. We want a bag of chips, or a glass of water. If we desired what we actually wanted, if we could dream big and desire big, we wouldn't be more greedy, but less. And perhaps what is scary about making real decisions in our lives is that instead of getting less, we get more, and we wonder if we ever deserved it. We think about ourselves and we are afraid of the future not because the future self is a worse self, but because we can actually see our future selves are better than we currently are, and we're terrified of it. We scared of the person in the future who might be better than us and we don't know how to get there, and even worse, if we do know how to get there, we can be scared of the commitment necessary.

Or least I am on a regular basis. And I think the reason I find 'future Brennan' so scary is that he might end up being better than I ever imagined, and sometimes the most fearful things are the ones you can't imagine, good or bad.

That's pretty scary.

VOW: Susan Boyle

Because I can't embed it, you NEED to watch this, especially if you haven't yet. If you haven't heard about this lady yet, I am extremely, extremely surprised. The amount of press this woman has gotten over a week might be more press than the New Kids On The Block and Prince ever got in their entire careers, combined. This video will make you feel better.

TOW: Easter

Easter is a special time of year for most people. Now, granted, some people think Good Friday is synonymous with three-day weekend. A rather tongue in cheek comment caught my eye in the CBC forums: "They want to officially rename Easter Sunday to .."Cadbury Weekend "....Preceding Nestle Friday.." While I find this cute on certain levels, it's also a little sad. (Not just because the CBC forums are full of people with nothing better to do than sit around making fun of each other. But really, that's what that site is for.) The real meaning of Easter isn't in the candy, or the easter bunnies and chickens, it's in the renewal of the season, both literally and figuratively.

Easter is always around the beginning of spring. There are many reasons for this, many of them church-political, but the reason for the festival of Easter is the same for all Christians. Easter represents the birth of new life, from death. In the literal sense, this means that we start from one season--winter--into a new season--spring. Animals, plants, even humans begin to breathe a little easier. It will soon be time for summer fun.

Figuratively speaking, Easter has a more human meaning than just the change of the seasons. Easter is about human rebirth, and rebirth in the sense of personal renewal. Catholics, like me, (although thankfully they aren't all like me. Eh heh.) work our way through Lent. Lent is meant to be a period where we try and strengthen ourselves and Easter is the time where we celebrate the fruits of our labour before spring breaks the silence of snow and ice.

Easter is special because is marks not only the beginning of a new season, but the true beginning of a new year. Easter means there is hope again after a long struggle. For myself, I always think of Easter as the real start of a new year. This is the time when we take all the experience, all of the things that have happened to us in the last eight months, and we begin to apply and understand. (At least before we all head camping or to the beach, respectively.) Easter is a time to wake up to the events that are happening in your life, and respond positively, with an open heart for change.


Make this a season for change, for the better.

VOW: Evil Easter Bunny

For your viewing pleasure--what the Easter Bunny is really like during the rest of the year. I've seen this several times, not sure if I've shared it with you, but go ahead and watch. I'm sure you'll like it.

VOW: Lost Generation

Interesting video, I can't decide if it's a subtle message or not.

TOW: Hard Truths

Pontius Pilate is notorious for having uttered the sardonic phrase, "What is truth?" This, of course, was probably funnier to him than the one who was getting crucified. (Although if you're a Christian, you're pretty sure God had the last laugh in that scenario.) While I don't want talk about truth itself, I would like to talk about a certain kind of truth. Namely, the hard truth. The one you don't want to face when you get out of bed in the morning and look yourself in the mirror. Yes, it's the receding hair line that is slowly retreating, or the crow's feet that's mutated into the Reading Railroad all over your face; it's the hard, cold, and often bitter truth.


Sometimes when we experience difficulty in our lives, we are faced with some information we don't like to process. (Guess who just payed off their entire credit card bill. Eh heh. Sigh.) The hard truth is that one thing we don't want to admit about ourselves, that one thing we hide to help us sleep at night.

Nietzsche was famous for saying that humans needs to lie to themselves, at least a little bit, so that they can go on living. And the reason is because if we knew everything about ourselves, we wouldn't want to go on living. We need some mystery in our own personalities, so that we can become more than we are. And a little bit of mystery is good thing. The last thing we need is "Bam! You're ugly! Bam! You're fat! Bam! Bam! Bam!" After a while, we would be paranoid, unable to trust others or believe in our own abilities, and life would just be generally lame. And we'd all be on the Jenny Craig Diet.

However, we can't always avoid the hard truth. The one that you're writing in your diary at three in the morning. The hard truth that other people say when they know you've been avoiding it. The worst part about the hard truth, is that we're afraid that if we start believing the hard and cold truth, we'll be a lesser human being, that we'll have failed somehow.

Surprisingly, once we face a hard truth, we usually feel more at ease. Being able to look at truth, regardless of how hard it is to bear, is always refreshing. And that's because it's exhausting to avoid facts that pop-up and try and present themselves to us every day. After a while, all that lying to ourselves tires us out more than just dealing with our own issues. (Which, of course, is crazy.)

A little bit of blindness keeps us in balance in a fair way. It keeps us from failing. A lot of blindness requires a seeing-eye dog. Or a slap in the face.

And that's the truth.

Busy

My roommate and I put together a BBQ. It took all night.

So that being said, VOW and TOW will be up tomorrow, I think.

I'm tired, and I am working long, long hours at the gym right now.

TOW: Hardship

Before I got some news half-way through the week that my grandmother had passed away in her sleep things were looking a little bit brighter. Funerals of someone you love are always hard, and the stress it adds to an already stressful day or week makes life seem a little duller. And that's why this thought of the week is dedicated to hardship, unfortunately.

It's not unfortunate that she had die, or that she had to pass away the way she did, since she was a strong lady, and she lived a full life, and I did have a chance to form a relationship with her. The unfortunate part is that those still living often deal with hardship...the feeling that the weight of the world is heavy. And it's not heavy because it's too much or that we don't want to carry it. It's heavy simply because the facts of life simply are not what we expect them to be. And because of that, our world, which isn't perfect, often makes us face challenges we don't want to face, and deal with problems we don't want to be real.

Philosophy has always had a lot to say about the problems of humanity. (Heck, one of my specialities in philosophy is moral suffering. Eh heh. Drama.) One of the best accounts, of course, is by Viktor Frankl, the psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust and Auschwitz. He had some very brilliant things to say about the problems of human suffering. Frankl himself experienced deep suffering, given that he was separated from his wife and parents (who were killed in the camps), and the only direct member of his family that survived was his sister.

Frankl, through his experience in Nazi Germany, devised something called logotherapy. When the physical life is too much, there is a retreat into mental life that can keep us alive, even when suffering removes all reasonable hope. For every situation that creates hardship, we can let it dehumanize us, turn us into objects or collateral damage, or we can be as we are, human and free. And as we create and imagine, and grow as creatures that think and have spiritual capacities, we search for meaning and purpose, so that hardship is not the only answer at the beginning or the end of our lives.

There are answers beyond just pleasure and pain. And those answers are ours to create.

VOW: Treadmill Cats

I couldn't get this to embed, but you should view this here. It's pretty alright. TOW possibly later this evening.

In SK

Just so everyone is aware, I am away in SK until April 1, and not available, really, until April 2nd. I have a funeral to attend, my grandmother just passed away, so I will be busy.

On top of that, I am moving as well April 1st, but thankfully my roommate is taking care of things for me *God bless him* and I can just do my thing here. I will try and put up a TOW and a VOW when I can, I just can't promise it will happen on schedule like it usually does.

Take care.

TOW: Strength

Since I work out a lot these days, I have been thinking lately about my body, and my diet, age, etc. All this working out has got me thinking about strength. It's hard to be strong...physically, mentally, or spiritually. I am currently working a lot on the physical and somewhat on the spiritual, and the mental strength I feel like I have under wraps. (That's what an MA gets you. Har har.)

Nietzsche called human strength will to power. Even more than the desire to live, strong and intellectual beings want to be powerful, and will risk their lives for more power. We become most fulfilled when we struggle to achieve power in our own lives, to control the circumstances that surround us. (In a more negative interpretation, this also means being able to control people around us. Don't read too much Nietzsche.) Every time we fight beyond the will to just survive, we are doing something right. Taking risks for positive benefit is integral to being human. Every time we let people and circumstance overshadow our sense of self, our 'will to exist and be powerful' we are weak.

Perhaps the most common mistake each of us makes is the idea that strength equals the inability to fail. Nietzsche was right about one thing--there are some people that are truly strong that sink with their own ships. Strength is the ability to prevent the possibility of failure from paralyzing us. Strong people don't actually succeed a lot. They usually just manage to succeed once or twice while other people are watching. And that's all it takes.

Strength resides in our ability to take risks and not fear failure, and to laugh in the face of failure as it approaches from afar. Strength is integrity in the face of fear. And often our dreams are built out of this intergrity.

VOW: Youtube Symphony Orchestra

I could explain it, but this girl certainly does a better job. Sure to be fairly international news.

Happy Intergalactic Cow Day!

I didn't do this particular drawing because Chris is visiting, so I didn't have time for something fancy! Anyways, Always remember to celebrate this moo-ving holiday, which is every March 21st! Intergalactic Cows are friends of all people everywhere, so make this day an international friend day!

TOW: Living in the Past

Hey friends, what were you doing yesterday? Ah, that was a good day wasn't it? How was your last fifteen minutes? You still remember that piece of cake you just had? Don't you wish you still had it? I do. The second piece wasn't as good as the first, at least for me. Didn't seem as nice. And let me say, I'm half-way through the third piece, and according to my memory, I didn't feel half as sick during my first piece.

This thought of the week is dedicated to my current nostalgia that has been affecting me to a large level since February. (This thought of the week is also brought to you by the letter Q. Har har har.) Nostolgia can have an interesting effect on you. You start thinking about past relationships, past accomplishments, and start wondering if you're on the right track. Wasn't I in a better place last year? Didn't I feel better about my circle of friends, about my family, my relationships and career a year or two ago? Weren't things easier back then? Why do things seem so hard these days?

Dang it, it was way better back then! The past tastes so yummy when I think about it like that! Hand me another piece of cake! I'm not hungry, but I'll eat it anyways! Gimmie that!

Ahem.

The philosopher Jacques Lacan had something to say about the past. He said, "Repitition is not the same thing as reproduction." We think, "Wow, the first time I did something, x happened. I bet that will happen again." We try and relive it, or in Lacanian terms, we try to repeat the past to prevent us from facing the future. This often applies to our desire for a certain kind of pleasure we had in the past that was so great we want it again and again. However, experience often teaches us that this is a bad idea. My first piece of cake didn't taste as good as my second piece. And my third piece, well, let's just say it wasn't pleasurable. Someone hand me my antacid. =(

Living in the past is a reaction which is (usually) brought on by an intense desire to feel happy in light of current circumstances. Sometimes we all experience moments in our lives that aren't as happy, or as rich as others. But that doesn't mean we can't value the present. It is often in those deeply unhappy moments, we do live in the past for a short time, and when we revisit the past when we can truly love ourselves for who we were.

The challenge is, naturally, to love ourselves for the people we are now and the present for what it is, versus the great person we thought we were in times past. And unless we choose to step away from those areas in which we are comfortable and easily victorious, we will never find out who we really are, now and for always. Even great men and women have desperate moments where they wish for a better life, or namely, the life they had. The characteristic that makes them great, however, is the fact that they let the past guide them into a brighter future, not a duskier one.

No more cake for me, please.

VOW: The Nano Song

And we're not talking about iPods here, friends. This is so genius. I wish she had her own tv show.

Funny Conversations with Montse on MSN #30,302

m says:
already cured from your horrible flu? Is today your day off?

Brennan says:
Yes!

Brennan says:
Wait, I had the flu???

m says:
cool! have you got one day off per week or somethong?

Brennan says:
Well, basically.

m says:
sorry

m says:
no thongs involved

Brennan says:
LOL

Brennan says:
That's ok

Brennan says:
I think thongs are scary

Brennan says:
LOL

m says:
hmmmm not really... I think what's under thongs is often scary!

Brennan says:
Now you are just being even weirder than me.

m says:
well, what can I say? I had a wonderful master!

Brennan says:
OK, now I feel dirty.

TOW: Discpline

I have been lacking some discpline this week. You might have noticed that because my posts are up two days later than they normally are. And I have been going to bed late, and missing out on going to the gym. And not doing much except watching trashy tv and playing mindless computer games, and then going leaving for work only to get there just in the nick of time...wait, I have something more important to do. I can hear internet tv calling my name, and it says I haven't watched my mandatory three hours of cute pet stunts and stupid videos where people put pencils up their noses.


Have I mentioned I've been lacking some discipline this week?



Philosphy has had a lot to say about the role of discipline in our lives. We can have disciplined minds, disciplined spirits, disciplined bodies, school teachers that hand out plenty of discipline. These are usually nuns.

Aristotle is famous for having said that all good things in life are in the ability to find the mean between two extremes; for example, the difference between sleeping all day and staying up all night. If you can find a mean in there somewhere, you might just wake up in time for work/school/doctor's appointments/watching the sun rise/etc. Life is about a spectrum of choices, and finding the balance in those choices generally leads us to happiness.

Discipline is the act of recognizing where and when you life is out of balance, and taking steps to correct that inbalance. The moment we let something unbalance us, other things start to fall apart as well. One night of bad sleep leads to bad eating leads to less exercise leads to gaining weight, leads to sitting in front of the tv wondering what happened to us that we could ever let ourselves 'become' a certain kind of person that we didn't expect or want. A tiny step backwards here, a misstep there, and suddenly we're on Weight-Watchers ten most wanted list. Or we've spent our entire budgets for the month without realizing it. A little bit of imbalance suddenly becomes a whole lot of pain. To prevent this, it's imperative we spend time with ourselves, thinking about what is really important in our lives, and what can wait until we have room on our plates for it.

So, take part in self-discipline awareness this week. Tie up loose ends, start new projects, and recognize what needs to be done to get you to your goals. Don't let items that are time-wasters take over your life and personal goals and values. There's nothing as embarassing as going through life with the label of 'too lazy to get what they wanted in life.'

VOW: The Secret Life of the American Teenager

I found a new web series. It's like Dawson's Creek, but with good acting, and it's all free on the net! Check it!

Edit: Wait, they require you to download zango. Bummer. Anyways, it's still a good series, and worthy of VOW.

TOW: Under the Influence

This week has been very. very busy. And if there has been one thing I've learned (ok, I've learned many things this week) it's that you can have a profound effect on people by doing little things. The choices you make, and the acts you commit, will ultimately have effects you couldn't even have imagined, not even if you tried. Not even if you really tried. Not even if you really, really, really really, tried. No, not even if....well, you get the idea.

To have an effect on someone, to influence them, means that we create a real and personal change in someone's life because of our attitudes. Sometimes we influence people because they look up to us, like role models. Sometimes we influence people because we are authority figures, people who can give guidance at work or in our spare time.

And how we influence others always depends on our attitude. People with bad attitudes make us feel miserable, they make us not want to aspire to the things they like or admire. People with good attitudes make us feel like the weight is being lifted off of our shoulders for a couple minutes each day that we spend with them. People with great attitudes make us feel like the world can be a better place. Change is made possible through our attitudes towards others, and their attitudes towards us. Attitude is everything.

Surprisingly, most people spend a large portion of the day in auto-pilot failing to notice that other people even exist. Yet isn't it at the very moments we think nobody cares that people with great attitudes really influence us, make us feel that they brightened up our day? Aren't we often influenced by someone's choice to care about us when it seems that no one would care at all? (Unless you live in a big city like Toronto, where no one actually does care. But that is a different kind of problem, perhaps.)

You do not have to be a great leader to influence people. In fact, it is often those actions that you do effortlessly on a day to day basis that effect people the most in your life. So think to yourself, which actions do you do regularly, which of your habits continue to effect the people around you, and are they good or bad? You don't need to be phobic about your behaviour, but at the very least, realize that people are forced to drink a tall cool glass of your attitude towards the world every day. And wouldn't it be better if that tall cool glass was toxin-free and people-friendly?

So be aware that you are powerful in your own way. Because some day, some kid will remember the time you dropped his ice-cream cone in the sand-box because it was funny. And someday, that kid will be an international heavy-weight boxing champion with rage issues. And you will, when you are old and rickety, meet him in that dark alley after he's been drinking.

Not the best kind of influence.

VOW: Brainteasers

This was one of my favourite of theirs. Very interesting comedy troupe.