Where did that last year go?

This is my first post since June 2008, and it's February 2009. I haven't been slacking, just directing my creative energies in different directions. Not much has happened since June of last year, I'm still seriously telling myself it's time to start looking for a real job and I'm motivated more and more each day. I'm now eager to get back to work. I love thinking about looking for a career. The more I think about looking for a job, the more I actually want to pick up a newspaper or search online for work. I'll get back to you later on the success of my efforts, but for now, here's a cartoon to look at which I drew recently when there was such a big fuss about the Rod Blagojevich Senate seat scandal.

And at the sound of the Bell; come out fighting!

Hillary Clinton surprised no one last night by not conceding the race for leader of the Democratic party. Rumours, yesterday morning, and a press release from the AP news service had many thinking that the former First Lady, was about to throw in the towel. Ha! What fools! Sources said she would announce the decision later in the evening following primaries in South Dakota and Montana. I was watching "The View" when Whoopi Goldberg excitedly read the breaking news story live on the air. Minutes later, a more subdued Barbara Walters chimed in, saying that it was only rumoured that Hillary would pull out of the race, and no official word was given by herself or any of her campaign people. So it goes on, and on and on...

The pundits expected her to win in South Dakota but to lose in Montana, on Tuesday, and it turned out they were right. Late in the evening, it was apparent that Barrack Obama had the nomination sewed up, by receiving more than the 2,118 delegate votes required for the nomination. However, a determined Hillary Clinton did not give in (that would be admitting defeat), as we know she's a fighter, and may only decide to pull out if she's offered the Vice Presidency, in my humble opinion. Of course there would have to be some secret negotiating going on, for that to happen, and with all the negative comments made about each other by both candidates, it seems highly unlikely they could get along under the same roof. Just ask Bill. Sorry that was unfair and uncalled for, as we know former President Clinton has been taking an awful lot of heat recently, by standing up for Mrs Clinton, and got himself in hot water by calling one reporter a "sleazy guy" (which he may be) after an article was released in the NY Times about Bill focusing more on the ladies while traveling instead of supporting his wife's campaign. A sensitive subject to talk about, as it is very clear that the wounds have not healed and may get even deeper if he remains in the spotlight, nearing the national election. I'm not expecting Mr Obama to invite Bill along for support on the campaign trail as having one Clinton to deal with is a formible task in itself.

Hillary has climbed way out on a limb by not choosing to pull out of the election last night. She could make herself look like a power seeking fanatic in the eyes of many Democrats, as we approach the Democratic convention this summer. To win the nomination, her only hope is some kind of miracle at this point, as it looks as if the majority of voters and super delegates have made their decision to go for Obama. Before it's too late, let's hear it for all those loyal people who still cheer her on and are asked once again to visit her website and offer financial suport to what looks like a doomed campaign. Who knows? we all could be wrong, as I'm sure most of us felt that John McCain's bid for Republican leader, looked hopeless, about this time last year, yet somehow it miraculously was revived. Perhaps that kind of scenario has Barrack a little worried. Stay tuned, this race which appears to be over, could get a whole lot more interesting, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next. Any guesses?

It isn't fair calling Quasimodo a Monster!

On Friday, a senior foreign advisor for Barack Obama's campaign resigned over a comment she made about Hillary Clinton. It's reported she called Hillary "a monster," during a newspaper interview. Before resigning she apologized sincerely to both the former first lady and Barack for her comments.

Here's my take on this. We know what she meant, because we aren't stupid. But if we were stupid, we could accept this plausible explanation. Here it is; not all monsters are bad. In fact some monsters are even lovable. Let's take the "Cookie Monster" for instance. That is one likeable monster that everyone loves; kids, parents, other Muppets, we all love the Cookie Monster, even though we may disagree with his food choices. Remember “Oscar the Grouch?” He was a monster who lived in a garbage can. Did we hate him? Of course not, he was a loveable monster, even though he hated just about everything.

Monsters aren’t all bad, so why all the fuss from Hillary. Is she getting a little thin skinned, or taking these comments too personal? Perhaps it’s the fact that most monsters are of the male gender that might be bothering Mrs. Clinton. She has been running on the model that she will be the first Female Candidate with a real chance of becoming President of the United States. It’s true that men have been giving her a hard time as she has been saying; especially white men, and black men, according to recent polls.

I think what I’m getting at here is; she needs support from another demographic besides older women and Latinos. Monsters; she could definitely use ground level support from monsters. Of course, it’s difficult to define who is and who isn’t a monster; just ask Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer from the novel/movie; The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He may have been ugly and misunderstood, but was he really a monster? He turned out to be kind of a hero, attempting to save Esmeralda’s life. Of course Hillary is beautiful in comparison to the hunchback, and to anyone who isn’t a Republican, or Obama supporter. It’s just that unusual high pitched laugh or cackle (as some call it) we hear occasionally; “The bells, the bells!”

Finally, I would like to think that if Senator Clinton had a sense of honor, she would insist that Senator Obama rehire Samantha Power since she has sincerely apologized for the Hillary monster comment. When I think about it, wasn’t the name Samantha used by Elizabeth Montgomery who played a witch in the 1970’s TV series “Bewitched.” Now I stand behind my observation that Samantha was a very “pretty witch.” Just ask Darrin or the other Darrin.

A day off yeah! Now I wish I had a job.

I hope many families are enjoying this day off. Sometimes I think that every day off is like a vacation from insanity. Not that there's anything wrong with working hard, but in modern society it seems we idolize the motivated worker who spends 60 or more hours a week away from their family. I just wonder how we can expect to have well adjusted kids growing up, if they hardly ever see their parents. Of course it is admirable for people to work hard and pay for a home and put money away for their children's college tuition. I'm just wondering, what effect their absence has on their children's emotional and mental health. It isn't getting any easier for children growing up in a society that puts more interest on developing new technology than it does on solving social issues.

As Bobby might say;
The times they are a changin.

Does money motivate you to write?

I can only imagine that being able to do something that you enjoy in life and getting paid for doing it must be the ultimate joy. Perhaps many authors would agree. I wonder if most successful writers enjoy writing so much, that when starting out, money was secondary in their mind. The love or passion for writing is the motivation and the rewards are recognition and financial gain. Although I haven't reached that point of success, I can tell you that being able to have time to write is one of the most satisfying experiences. There is a feeling, perhaps pride, that you experience after successfully writing a good article. I don't know how one defines it, but I see a successful article as one that fits together smoothly from sentence to sentence. It is easy to read, and keeps your interest until the end. I don't know if there is a formula to use (I doubt it) but I believe it does requrie hard work and concentration, because you realize that every word is important. Using the appropriate words and in a specific order, enables the reader to create an image, a story. If it is true what they say about; "a picture being worth a thousand words," then perhaps we could say, "a thousand words is like a painting."

It's Tuesday, what happened to Monday

Yesterday flew by and I can hardly believe it's Tuesday already. I spent most of Monday listening to a couple of seminars offered free by the provincial government. The first information and question session was three hours long and focused on Ontario employee's rights in the workplace. I found it interesting and learned some surprising facts. Before beginning the talk, the facilitator handed out a quiz with nine true and false questions, that we answered before getting started . I will share it with you, so you can do it for fun. The answers are at the bottom of this page. (BTW I only got 6 out of the 9 questions right).


1. The standard work week is 48 hours.....................T or F

2. Employees receive a minimum of 5 days
sick time per year...................................................T or F

3. You can be fired without notice for
misconduct on the job..............................................T or F

4. Men and women must be paid the same wage
for the same work in the same workplace..................T or F

5. Joining a union in your workplace is
always optional........................................................T or F

6. An employee is entitled to a safe
work environment................................................... T or F

7. After 12 months of employment, employees
are entitled to two weeks paid vacation......................T or F

8. Employees in stores have the right to
refuse to work on Sunday.........................................T or F

9. Employees are entitled to 1/2 hour break
every 5 hours..........................................................T or F

Answers:
1. T
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. T
7. T
8. T
9. T

Of course there are always exceptions to these rules, but there are minimum standards that employers must adhere to. It is worth the effort to learn about your rights. Who knows when an employer is unknowingly or deliberately exploiting them. What is most important is ensuring you are working in a safe and healthy workplace environment, and are confident enough to speak up if you are in doubt.

Yes, it's Friday!

Okay, maybe I shouldn't be excited about it being the end of the work week, primarily because I'm not working. Nevertheless there are many who are. I'm feeling happy for them. It's starting to snow heavily here; probably 20 or more centimeters or about 8 inches, of cold, white powdery flakes, by tomorrow. Winter; it's just too long.

China has had it's worst winter in fifty years. Millions are affected, and hundreds of thousands wishing to travel for the Chinese New Year, are stranded at railways with no trains running. Listen China; if your leader plans on making a New Year's resolution, he can start by paying a little more money out for snow removal then pay some more to the common worker. Anyway, best wishes and have a Happy New Year. Happy birthday to all you rats by the way, since I heard it's your year. How can being a rat be a good thing? I suppose it's a step up from being a snake.