On the first weekend of this month, my friend Scott and I decided to take a road trip to Gander for the weekend. When I picked him up, I couldn't help but notice something different about him. A new, stylish jacket? No, not that. A noticeable improvement in his physique? Absolutely not. The next words I uttered were a phrase that I thought I would never say to anyone during my time on this Earth. "Nice mustache."
He then proceeded to fill me in on what was being dubbed as 'Movember'. He said that, in short, Movember was an event in which men (and men only... I hope) were to shave their entire face on the first of the month and proceed to then grow a mustache for the entire month. The participants were to raise money for prostate cancer awareness, as the duster was supposed to represent a ribbon for men's health, much like the pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness. Upon further research, I learned some interesting facts about the latest craze among men. As it turns out, Movember came about in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, when a group of friends went out for beers. Now as a man who enjoys beer, I can attest to coming up with some pretty wild and creative ideas while hammered, but growing mustaches for an entire month to raise awareness for prostate cancer?!?! I don't know what they put in that Foster's beer, but I have GOT to try me some of that!!!
Unfortunately, at the tender age of 26, genetics won't allow me to participate in any events in which X amount of facial hair is required to participate (hey, at least I've got a nice, healthy, full head of hair!). But that didn't stop thousands, and thousands... and thousands of men, worldwide, from participating in what has become nothing short of a global phenomenon. You can check out a cool YouTube compilation of Movember staches here: Sweet Movember Dusters
Everywhere I went over the course of this month, there was a mustache-wearer lurking somewhere close. It was as if Ron Jeremy was following me everywhere (which, for the record, would be weird as shit). And it was easy to differentiate (big word!) between the men who were rockin' Movember staches and those who lived with a mustache. The distinction was simple: every time I saw a man with a Movember stache, upon eye contact, the stache bearer would get that shit-eating grin on his face as if to say, "God, this is embarrassing." While I'm sure Movember participants wore their prostate cancer awareness mustaches with pride, the embarrassed grin was a reaction that could not be fought, as oftentimes happens when men make any changes to their regular visage.
The Movember trend seemed particularly popular among sports figures, both players and commentators. Personally, I thought Gino Reda's Movember "cookie duster" was epic. Some notable dusters from the NHL included my boy, Carey Price, Cal Clutterbuck and Sam Gagner, to name a few. It was a trend that was embraced by everyone. I read somewhere that more than $21 million was raised for Movember in 2009, and one can only imagine that at least that much money was raised this year.
I'm going to state this for the record, and for those of you who see me on a regular basis, feel free to remind me: I will participate in Movember 2011. I don't care if I still have the facial hair growing ability of a pre-pubescent boy, I am going to participate next year. And I will raise as much money as I can to help support a very worthy cause.
To those of you who did participate in Movember 2010, I salute you. And I'm sure for many of those who did participate, November 18th was a great day, which was coined 'Have Sex With A Guy With A Mustache Day'. I bet you guys weren't embarrassed about your Movember lip sweaters then! ;)
For my useless factoid, I'll leave you with something mustache related:
The average mustache traps 72 pints of beer and 37.5 pounds of beer-related snack foods within it's folicles each year! Motivation to keep that Movember stache...?
Side note: for those of you who visited that "Movember Compilation" before reading to the end of this post... in your face! I responded to one global phenomenon with another - the Rick Roll! I am so 2007! :)
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Oh Danny boy
Danny Williams, the long-standing Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, announced today that effective December 3rd, he would be stepping down as Premier of the province. To quote Premier Williams, "Today is one of those surreal days that you think about from time to time out of curiosity, but you never ever really allow your mind to go there fully because as you can see, the reality is just too overwhelming." While this may come as a surprise to some, it was speculated that once Premier Williams would step down shortly after settling the Lower Churchill project, which he did a couple weeks ago, WITHOUT Quebec.
*Side note: While I am a huge fans of the Montreal Canadiens, I am strictly a fan of the team, not their geographical location. Fuck Quebec. Quit your bitching and separate already. Vive Quebec? How about vive my ASS! There, I said it.
Anywho, one can't help but reflect on Premier Williams and the legacy he has left behind. I remember the election like it was yesterday. I was at a Fog Devils game with my brother, and after the game was over, while exiting Mile One, the election results were on all of the TVs in the lobby. I saw that Williams won and exclaimed, "Woohoo! Fuck Roger Grimes!" From that point on, it seemed as if the nature of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians had changed. It was if the good people of this province knew that positive change was on the horizon. Now, I am no political savant (see, one of those big words came to my head and I used it!), so I won't bother to praise up all of his accomplishments, nor will I chastise him for his failures. I will simply comment on what I know/think about his impact on our province.
I remember when he pulled down the Canadian flag at Confederation in protest of something-or-other. And that know-it-all at the Globe and Mail, Margaret Wente, had the nerve to write a column titled, "Oh Danny boy, pipe down." Good one, Margaret. It was nice of you to take the time to write such drab. HAVE you NOT anything better to do? We don't HAVE the time for such nonsense, as our unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in quite some time (like what I did there?)
Zing!
Back to Mr. Williams. As I previously stated, I don't know much about local politics, or any politics for that matter, so I can only reflect on what I feel about Danny's legacy. When I look back on his time as Premier, one word comes to mind: fighter. Because that's what he did. Love him or hate him, he fought tooth and nail for this province. His passion and commitment towards the success of this province embodies how all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should feel about their home. When we had a problem, he went straight to Ottawa to fix it. And for the most part, he did. Almost immediately after he took the Premiership he announced that his goal was to ink a deal with Lower Churchill. Well, it took longer than expected, by by golly, he did it. And under his power, the province's economy has boomed. The revenue that has been generated through our oil industry has been tremendous since he took office. Granted, he did not put the resources there, but he has allowed this province to get a fair deal on the revenue sharing that has come with such huge projects, such as White Rose.
The only knock that I can see on the Premier's legacy are the many problems with the health care industry. He inherited the squabble between the nurses and the province, which in my opinion, will never be resolved. Yes, they are working now, but it's only a matter of time before they walk again. Can you blame them? But the issues that have arose since the start of Mr. Williams stint have been alarming, and have been left unresolved. The issue with the breast cancer screening was a huge debacle for this province. Mr. Williams called for an inquiry, the Cameron Inquiry, which after months and months, yielded little to no answers for the people of the province. And this latest issues with the doctors of this province, the scandal where those 14 doctors resigned at the same time, is a major, MAJOR stain on this province. It was noted during that resignation that a large number of doctors plan on resigning in February, citing that the offer from the government was too low and unfair. I won't delve into my opinion on this issue, because that's not the topic of my blog post. But for the record, GIVE THE DOCTORS WHAT IS FAIR.
Mr. Williams, all-in-all, you've done a pretty fantastic job of running this province. You've represented us well, you were a fearless leader and I speak for many, many Newfoundlander and Labradorians when I say "Danny, you will be missed."
I wonder who will be the next Premier of this province...? (Yeah, Kathy Dunderdale is the interim Premier as of Dec. 3, but we all know that will be very short-lived).
In closing, I leave you, my lovely readers, with this:
The verb 'cleave' is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
*Side note: While I am a huge fans of the Montreal Canadiens, I am strictly a fan of the team, not their geographical location. Fuck Quebec. Quit your bitching and separate already. Vive Quebec? How about vive my ASS! There, I said it.
Anywho, one can't help but reflect on Premier Williams and the legacy he has left behind. I remember the election like it was yesterday. I was at a Fog Devils game with my brother, and after the game was over, while exiting Mile One, the election results were on all of the TVs in the lobby. I saw that Williams won and exclaimed, "Woohoo! Fuck Roger Grimes!" From that point on, it seemed as if the nature of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians had changed. It was if the good people of this province knew that positive change was on the horizon. Now, I am no political savant (see, one of those big words came to my head and I used it!), so I won't bother to praise up all of his accomplishments, nor will I chastise him for his failures. I will simply comment on what I know/think about his impact on our province.
I remember when he pulled down the Canadian flag at Confederation in protest of something-or-other. And that know-it-all at the Globe and Mail, Margaret Wente, had the nerve to write a column titled, "Oh Danny boy, pipe down." Good one, Margaret. It was nice of you to take the time to write such drab. HAVE you NOT anything better to do? We don't HAVE the time for such nonsense, as our unemployment rate is the lowest it's been in quite some time (like what I did there?)
Zing!
Back to Mr. Williams. As I previously stated, I don't know much about local politics, or any politics for that matter, so I can only reflect on what I feel about Danny's legacy. When I look back on his time as Premier, one word comes to mind: fighter. Because that's what he did. Love him or hate him, he fought tooth and nail for this province. His passion and commitment towards the success of this province embodies how all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should feel about their home. When we had a problem, he went straight to Ottawa to fix it. And for the most part, he did. Almost immediately after he took the Premiership he announced that his goal was to ink a deal with Lower Churchill. Well, it took longer than expected, by by golly, he did it. And under his power, the province's economy has boomed. The revenue that has been generated through our oil industry has been tremendous since he took office. Granted, he did not put the resources there, but he has allowed this province to get a fair deal on the revenue sharing that has come with such huge projects, such as White Rose.
The only knock that I can see on the Premier's legacy are the many problems with the health care industry. He inherited the squabble between the nurses and the province, which in my opinion, will never be resolved. Yes, they are working now, but it's only a matter of time before they walk again. Can you blame them? But the issues that have arose since the start of Mr. Williams stint have been alarming, and have been left unresolved. The issue with the breast cancer screening was a huge debacle for this province. Mr. Williams called for an inquiry, the Cameron Inquiry, which after months and months, yielded little to no answers for the people of the province. And this latest issues with the doctors of this province, the scandal where those 14 doctors resigned at the same time, is a major, MAJOR stain on this province. It was noted during that resignation that a large number of doctors plan on resigning in February, citing that the offer from the government was too low and unfair. I won't delve into my opinion on this issue, because that's not the topic of my blog post. But for the record, GIVE THE DOCTORS WHAT IS FAIR.
Mr. Williams, all-in-all, you've done a pretty fantastic job of running this province. You've represented us well, you were a fearless leader and I speak for many, many Newfoundlander and Labradorians when I say "Danny, you will be missed."
I wonder who will be the next Premier of this province...? (Yeah, Kathy Dunderdale is the interim Premier as of Dec. 3, but we all know that will be very short-lived).
In closing, I leave you, my lovely readers, with this:
The verb 'cleave' is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The beginning of the end
About 30 minutes ago, while lying in bed asking myself silly questions like: did I shave today, will it rain tomorrow, why is a 2L of milk so expensive, does everyone think Tim Horton's is as overrated as I do, could the Montreal Canadiens possibly win their division this year, how long til Conan gets replaced again, will the Canadian dollar ever surpass the American dollar, why was the TV show 'Lost' so confusing, etc.... I decided to start a blog. 'Why?' you may ask. Well, simply put: I like to write. I always have, since I was young. I wrote poetry as a kid (one of my poems, as a letter informed me, was so good that it was going to be published in a poetry book to be sold all over Canada and the U.S.; that turned out to be a Bernie Madoff-esque scam).
I digress.
The point is, I enjoy writing. For those of you who know me well, you'd know that when I was part of 97.5 K-Rock's 'Mike and Bill Almighty 2' in 2009, I kept a daily blog. I thought then that it would be cool for me to maintain a blog of my random thoughts, life stories, rants, etc, but in the end, I never got around to it. My daughter was about 4 months old then and was becoming quite demanding. Then I went away for 8 months for work. As they say, life happened.
But now I have decided that despite the fact that 'life happens' every day, that I am going to *attempt* to maintain a blog regardless of what perils may come my way. I plan on keeping it simple: I'll talk about life, how my day was, current events, sports, poker, technology, random crap, etc. I may use big words sometimes (occasionally, a big word springs to mind which I then am committed to using in a sentence sometime in the near future), but usually my entries will consist of pretty basic English and will be fairly easy to read. I won't make any spelling mistakes, because I am a pretty good speller and because Windows puts a red squiggly line beneath a word when you spell it wrong, and I am good at spotting those! I am very opinionated, and oftentimes, wrong in that opinion, but that won't stop me from spouting off and running my mouth. If you don't like what I have to say, you can do one/all of three things: 1) respond accordingly, 2) stop reading my blog or 3) cram it up your hole. I'll keep this mostly PG, although at some point I will surely drop a curse word or two... or ten. Depends on the mood I am in.
I will admit that I am nervous about starting my own blog. The internet can be a cruel and unfriendly place, but I have decided to gamble and start one anyway. I encourage any and all feedback to anything I post. Where I come from, any feedback is good feedback.
I look forward to *hopefully* entertaining the masses and becoming a huge internet celebrity blogger superstar... wait a minute, that's not what I want at all. *Ahem* I look forward to sharing my thoughts, as random and obscure as they may be, for you to enjoy and laugh at or criticize. To use a lame analogy, if this were a roller coaster ride, you'd just be getting strapped in. *click* *click* *CLICK* You're set to go. Except as soon as the roller coaster starts moving, everything in front of you becomes blank. Why? Because much like this blog, you have no idea where this is going. At times, this may be dull and unexciting, like riding slowly on a flat surface. But at other times, it will be crazy and wild, as if you were going through several loop-de-loops and racing down steep inclines with no end in sight.... The point is, my blog won't always be exciting for you. Sometimes I'll post about the latest Montreal Canadiens game (probably only after they win because I'm fickle like that), which you, the reader, may not enjoy. But other times, I'll post about random shit that goes on in my home town, or anywhere really. Random shit that is engaging and enraging and dramatic and controversial (because deep down, everyone loves controversy). And those entries you might enjoy a lot. Who knows!?
Some blogs have a neat quote or blip or signature that lets it stand apart from other blogs, and mine will be this: at the end of each entry, I will post the most random, obscure, useless factoid that I can think of. Here's how I am going to close out this entry:
Did you know that stop lights are green 66% of the time, yellow 12% of the time and red 22% of the time? I bet you didn't!
I digress.
The point is, I enjoy writing. For those of you who know me well, you'd know that when I was part of 97.5 K-Rock's 'Mike and Bill Almighty 2' in 2009, I kept a daily blog. I thought then that it would be cool for me to maintain a blog of my random thoughts, life stories, rants, etc, but in the end, I never got around to it. My daughter was about 4 months old then and was becoming quite demanding. Then I went away for 8 months for work. As they say, life happened.
But now I have decided that despite the fact that 'life happens' every day, that I am going to *attempt* to maintain a blog regardless of what perils may come my way. I plan on keeping it simple: I'll talk about life, how my day was, current events, sports, poker, technology, random crap, etc. I may use big words sometimes (occasionally, a big word springs to mind which I then am committed to using in a sentence sometime in the near future), but usually my entries will consist of pretty basic English and will be fairly easy to read. I won't make any spelling mistakes, because I am a pretty good speller and because Windows puts a red squiggly line beneath a word when you spell it wrong, and I am good at spotting those! I am very opinionated, and oftentimes, wrong in that opinion, but that won't stop me from spouting off and running my mouth. If you don't like what I have to say, you can do one/all of three things: 1) respond accordingly, 2) stop reading my blog or 3) cram it up your hole. I'll keep this mostly PG, although at some point I will surely drop a curse word or two... or ten. Depends on the mood I am in.
I will admit that I am nervous about starting my own blog. The internet can be a cruel and unfriendly place, but I have decided to gamble and start one anyway. I encourage any and all feedback to anything I post. Where I come from, any feedback is good feedback.
I look forward to *hopefully* entertaining the masses and becoming a huge internet celebrity blogger superstar... wait a minute, that's not what I want at all. *Ahem* I look forward to sharing my thoughts, as random and obscure as they may be, for you to enjoy and laugh at or criticize. To use a lame analogy, if this were a roller coaster ride, you'd just be getting strapped in. *click* *click* *CLICK* You're set to go. Except as soon as the roller coaster starts moving, everything in front of you becomes blank. Why? Because much like this blog, you have no idea where this is going. At times, this may be dull and unexciting, like riding slowly on a flat surface. But at other times, it will be crazy and wild, as if you were going through several loop-de-loops and racing down steep inclines with no end in sight.... The point is, my blog won't always be exciting for you. Sometimes I'll post about the latest Montreal Canadiens game (probably only after they win because I'm fickle like that), which you, the reader, may not enjoy. But other times, I'll post about random shit that goes on in my home town, or anywhere really. Random shit that is engaging and enraging and dramatic and controversial (because deep down, everyone loves controversy). And those entries you might enjoy a lot. Who knows!?
Some blogs have a neat quote or blip or signature that lets it stand apart from other blogs, and mine will be this: at the end of each entry, I will post the most random, obscure, useless factoid that I can think of. Here's how I am going to close out this entry:
Did you know that stop lights are green 66% of the time, yellow 12% of the time and red 22% of the time? I bet you didn't!
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