BigAl

Unfortunately that's the reality of the business Army Guy...I used to do writing work for the Toronto Metro and the Toronto Star, and what struck me the most about those publications (great as they were and still are on some level) was how little control I had as a writer over my own work. My writing was frequently edited to the point where it didn't resemble what I had written at all. You can get around that by self-publishing (the internet is a wonderful tool in that respect) but the chances of making money writing are slim. As much as this guy is kind of an asshole, you should check out this writing guide that details where to start as far as writing goes. I think it would be very interesting to see you do work on non-fiction given your background in the military (I am aware there are restrictions on what you can write about, but writing what you know -- what you've lived -- is always a good place to start). I'd be very interested to see some of what you come up with if you're inclined...PM me for my email address if you're interested.

Agreed PT. I grew up in a rural Ontario town, and it seemed to me as though the cops in that town did nothing but run around looking for kids with joints to bust. It got so bad they started locking down the high school and bringing in drug dogs to find all the students who had pot...the funny bit was the profiling that went on (they went direct to the shop classes and whatnot because they knew that's where the weed would be) -- if they were smart they would have hit the Advanced level classes where half the kids had speed and meth (you know, those fine upstanding members of the school community who did amazingly well on tests etc. because they would spend the night before an exam hopped up on amphetamines, studying till the wee hours). There were far worse drug issues in that town than the pot trade, but the police were more than willing to look the other way because of the demographic selling and using the high-end stuff. Ridiculous, really.

Aha! You beat me to it Kimmy...as soon as I read the title of this thread that was EXACTLY what I was going to say. His performance in Tombstone is often underrated, I think -- especially the bit where he twirls that teacup like it was a gun. If I were American, that's all he'd have to do to garner my vote. But then, I'm simple and easily led.

I think it's very important to remember, even while we all sit around playing armchair political scientists, waxing philosophic on the problems with Canadian policy, that at the end of the day we are very fortunate in this part of the world. Canada isn't perfect -- nowhere is even close -- but we're a hell of a lot better off than we sometimes think.

Weeeell...on some level I tend to agree with you, but I think it's a slippery slope to assume there are NOTHING but self-created obstacles for visible minorities in this part of the world. I mean, I'm white and English-speaking -- but the chances of me becoming Prime Minister are slim to none, because I don't have the startup capital necessary to run for office. Does that mean the only obstacles before me are self-created? My point is the fact that Obama was elected isn't necessarily an indication that anybody can do anything.

Well how about that? So much for "punishing" those sinful homosexuals. Anybody who claims natural disasters (or 9/11 or Gaza or anything else) is a case of God punishing humanity needs their head read. People have been expecting Rapture / Judgment Day / Whatever for thousands of years now, and I have yet to see anything other than a series of unrelated tragedies befalling unfortunate people. That's not Judgment -- that's LIFE.

I figure it's a classic case of media laziness...if you notice, there are always pundits who compare contemporary world events to well-known events of the past, not always accurately. Comparing the inauguration to Woodstock is the same as comparing any current right-winger to Hitler, or (my personal favourite) the total inaccuracy of referring to something as being "on acid" (i.e. "this TV show will be like Bonnie and Clyde ON ACID")...used to denote something that is akin to another, similar setup, but Wild and/or Crazy (also Unexpectedly Cool). There's a great British comedian called Bill Bailey who does a whole rap on the inaccuracy of "_______ on Acid" that you should check out. But I digress. It's laziness through and through -- we put certain historical events or people on these pedestals of importance and then use them as common media-tagged landmarks to which we can apply everything else, ever. ANY large gathering of people in this day and age that is remotely jovial and non-violent would be compared to this false notion of Woodstock as being one big love-in (which it wasn't). I found it funny because when I heard the commentators recalling Woodstock with such nostalgia, all I could think was "You mean the inauguration is a poorly-planned music festival that will ultimately result in several deaths due to an unforeseen rainstorm / mudslide where several people will die of malnutrition and drug overdoses? Cool!" Boring, stupid pop-culture hype. That's all it is.

I figure since I'm already here I'll do what I can to make it worthwhile -- however, I don't have any intention of having kids. Ever. For any reason.

What kind of writing do you want to do Army Guy? Any advice I might be able to lend depends on the genre you want to write. But the one overriding piece of advice I can grant you is this: just like acting, or music, or painting, or any art, the chances of you being able to make your living writing novels or poetry or whatever is slim-to-none. Let me know what kind of stuff you're into and I might be able to elaborate.

There are days, Daniel, when I fail to see how that would be a bad thing...

I'll have you know that "darkish gloom" has put my hands on more bumper than a mechanic. Women call it "strong and silent" or "deep and mysterious" and it is awesome.

Wow. I'm all for sex education because I think it's important to be knowledgeable (let's face it, kids are going to experiment with sex whether we want them to or not -- best they know how it works), but teaching them the "benefits of foreplay"? Hoo. That's a wee bit past even my ability to take it.

Agreed...I've always believed the tenet that the only way to get a people to put aside their differences and work toward a common goal is to give them something common to hate. That's why movies like "Independence Day" or "Armageddon" work so well -- humanity will only be united when there's something that *isn't* humanity (big rock hurtling towards Earth for example) shows up to threaten us. And I'm interested in the socioreligious implications of faster-than-light travel...I am willing to bet you'd see a lot of nutbars come out of the woodwork to protest such advancements as "un-Godly"...and heaven forbid (haha) that we find other intelligent life! What would that do to the religious framework that puts US at the absolute center of Creation?

Agreed 100% Toad. We build these folks up *specifically* so we can tear them down. It's like a modern-day version of the gladiators...we love them when they win, but we love them even more when they meet their ignominious end on the pointy side of a spear or something.

This made me laugh my ass off. I needed this first thing in the morning; thank you. And for what it's worth, I couldn't care less about a woman's hair colour...it's all in the eyes.