buddy can you spare a nail?

it's that magical time of year when the true believers GET NAILED TO A CROSS. one of the guys in the phillipines is such a strong believer he has been nailed to the cross 27 times. too bad the new pope, or any of the old popes, weren't strong enough believers to get themselves nailed to a cross.

think of it, the job of pope could be a 1 year term contract beginning the day after good friday. then on the following good friday in the next year the pope would get crucified to mark the end of his term and of course he could bake in the sun for a day or two until he croaked. then stick him in a cave with trap door and smuggle him out the cave. voila, a fucking miracle. sell t-shirts, dolls, commemorative plates, gold plated jewelry etc and we'll all live happily ever after.

i might even pay a few kopeks for the pay per view to watch the pope get what he deserves.

i just heard this song on the radio and must say jake bugg is better than the dinosaurs i've been listening to these past several years.

i love you sons of bitches

i can help

i've offered to help a few folks with their personal demons but so far they've been reluctant to advantage of my expertise. so for all those smokers out there that lack the self discipline to kick the habit let me present the latest in canadian anti smoking technology:

there is also a job opening for "king" of this blog, the current king has abdicated. if you are interested in the position, drop me a line.

i love you sons of bitches.

when my time comes

a few days ago i took a sweet old lady to the geriatric center for an assessment, both physical and cognitive. it was an interesting if not depressing experience. i won't moan and groan about the challenges i'll be facing in the next few years but instead i'll tell you what cheered me up.

in keeping with my new found love of cbc internet radio i heard a song a few minutes after arriving home that really picked up my spirits. rather than worry about the future and the shit storm coming, let's enjoy the moment!

if that's not enough to bring a smile to your face, remember the golden rule:

"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind."

i love you sons of bitches.

public radio

i've recently started listening to our public broadcaster, CBC RADIO, on the net. i don't know what took me so long but as they say, better late than never. it's quite cool, when you hear a song you like, just add it to a play list or mark it as a favorite. best of all there are virtually no commercials, just a short one when changing channels. here are 2 of the songs that i probably would have never heard if not for the good old cbc.

this one is real cool if you like animals and are concerned about their survival:

and for those trying to quit smoking.

it's raining like old rat shit here and i still love you sons of bitches.

i be dense

today was my big day, a visit to the doctor to get the results of my bone scan. i received the scan 1 week ago but the young lady who did the scan would not give me the results. i tried to use a little charm but struck out. i tried the old sympathy ploy but she held firm, i had to get the results from my doctor.

i'm happy to say that i no longer have osteopenia, my bones have mended and i can stop taking that feckin fosovance. so i got that going for me too which is real nice. i have 5 fosovance tablets left and was told to take them. that's a five week supply. it's a once a week pill that is a real pain in the neck. the instructions are to take the pill as soon as you wake in the morning, drink a cup of water and not eat anything for 30 - 60 minutes. it's a real pain in the arse when your whole day revolves around having a great big strong cup of coffee as quickly as possible after waking. truth be told, i didn't follow the instructions to the letter. so it goes.

i'm also happy to report that my all time favorite prime minister, jean chretien, is in venazuela for THE FUNERAL OF HUGO CHAVEZ. our current prime minister, did not attend the service. rumor has it that netanyahoo forbade him to attend and our boy stephen has to clear everything he does through israel. there certainly was an interesting cast of characters attending the funeral. i wonder who was in charge of the seating arrangements?

anyone remember the classic speech hugo delivered at the united nations?:

i love you sons of bitches.

china

did anyone watch the 60 minutes segment on the housing bubble in china?

i happened to watch it and was scared shitless. i was aware of all the empty apartments and ghost cities but somehow i thought they were built and owned by the state. it seems my preconceived ideas about the so called managed economy were quite off the mark. it is still a managed economy but not quite as managed as i had thought. according to the 60 minutes segment all the empty apartments are owned by private investors. a very thoughtful chinese builder predicted an "arab spring" in china when the shit hits the fan and the private investors learn they are sitting on white elephants. as the chinese say, may you live in interesting times. this should be real interesting in the coming years.

the downturn in china is not news and i was always curious if the so called managed economy could better deal with a real estate bubble than the almost laissez-faire american model. there is a term in penny stocks called "the greater fool than i" strategy. basically you buy shares in some piece of shit moose pasture and your plan is to sell it to "a greater fool than yourself" at a higher price than you yourself paid. that is the impression i got about the chinese real estate bubble. people are clamoring to invest in real estate because it is going up in value and they don't want to miss the boat. the good news for these guys is they aren't missing the boat. the bad news is sooner or later the boat is going to sink.

this leads me to another question. are the chinese growth statistics accurate? at best they are suspect, at worst they are bullshit. how much of the reported economic growth is real and how much is due to inflation? that is the trillion dollar question.

EMPTY CHINESE APARTMENTS ETC.

growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell.

i've fallen in love with this song;

and of course i love you sons of bitches.