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Hollywood BitchSlap Here's an uncompromising look at movies coming out of Hollywood. If you're tired of the same old response from critics for just about every movie Hollywood dishes out, then this will be a refreshing change. Here, you'll find a more accurate representation of what's luring you to part with your money.

Too Much Love for Migaloo Migaloo is an albino humpback whale living in the wild. It's the only known albino. It was first spotted in 1991, and since then, has been having just a little too much attention from humans ... too many photographers, boats, planes, and apparently, an idiot scuba diver that rode him while shooting a video . Migaloo is getting a little pissed with all the attention, and recently leaped onto a yacht. The poor animal must be under tremendous stress.

10 Commandments Here's an interesting one I just found while browsing CNN. An Alabama Judge installed a 5000-lb monument of the 10 commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court building in 2001. He didn't consult with anyone. A suit was filed afterwards, to have it removed. He's fighting it. In the US, the government is not supposed to promote any religion - it's supposed to be unbiased. The judge was asked if he would be in favour of installing a monument of the Koran ... his answer: "This nation was founded upon the laws of God, not upon the Koran. That's clear in the Declaration [of Independence], so it wouldn't fit history and it wouldn't fit law." I just have one question: how did this moron become a judge? Let's see here - God-10 Commandments-Koran ... God has as much to do with the Commandments as with the Koran.

Vacation There haven't been entries of late ... I've been on vacation. A slew of updates will arrive shortly ... until then, here's something I've been putting together ... my online vacation scrapbook . Click on the link, it will take you there. Note that there is a 10-second delay between images. They will load automatically. Just set your browser to full screen, and enjoy the show ... the rest of the scrapbook is coming soon!

Futures Market? Yes, as weird as it may seem, capatilism strikes again. This is an ingenius idea, not to mention morbid. At first, the US government proposed setting up a futures market to hedge bets on future terrorist attacks . This idea was quickly canned after the public's collective stomach turned. The basic idea was to create a market where the future of terrorist activities could be traded like stock. You buy more into a specific action, say the potential of a terrorist hit on the White House, if you believe that there was a great likelihood of it happening. The thought being that those in the know, and out to make a fast buck, would bet heavily that this would happen and on what date, in order to make some quick cash. The US government would then respond accordingly to the trends of the market to quash whatever nefarious plan may be afoot. That plan got squashed. Now, a bunch of University researchers are planning on doing the same thing ... only this futures mark...

New/Old Photos I've just added to my site. My photos and art have long been a part of my webshots accounts. I've offerred up from my site, quick access to some of them. The others are coming as I get the time.

New Ape Species? CNN reports on what my be a discovery of a new ape species lurking in the forests of Congo. The animals are reclusives, and thus far, there hasn't been a lot of photographs taken of them. What has been obtained however, has been skeletal and DNA samples - which reveal that the animal may not be a complete new species, but a hybrid between chimps and gorillas. Amazing!

Gregory Hines - dead This is one I couldn't actually believe. Gregory Hines has died of cancer, at age 57. That's way too young for anyone to die.

National Anthems My wife and I were discussing National Anthems the other day, as we watched a friend of ours gain citizenship. Part of the ceremony is to sing the national anthem. I didn't recall the national anthem of Guyana - my country of origin ... so I looked it up. Although I sang that anthem every morning when I went to school as a child, I can no longer remember how to sing it. Good thing I'm now Canadian. Which brings me to the point of our discussion - the Canadian national anthem . It needs some work. For one thing, the French version is too different from the English version. Do we really need two national anthems? I take exception to the following verse from the French as well: Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix! I don't get it. We have a separation of church and state in Canada. The PM recently reminded us of all this by keeping his religion out of the issue of gay marriages, and doing the intelligent thing. The French...

Hitachi's new PDA/Phone Will you look at this thing? It runs Windows CE; it's a cell phone; it's an MP3 player; it's a digital camera; it plays back video; and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Prometea - cloned horse Well, congratulations science. An Italian lab has just cloned a horse. I'm mixed about this. There are the benefits to science - the further refinement of cloning technologies, etc., and the potential benefits to humankind - bringing back extinct species, etc. ... but, it seems like we're moving at a breakneck speed down the cloning path without fully understanding the long term implications of the technology. As history has shown us, we usually leave a mess behind that future generations will need to clean up. For more on cloning, companies that do it, ethics discussion, etc, check out this link.

Anti-Americanism I just read a bloody stupid article in Forbes Magazine. I have never read Forbes before, so I'm not entirely sure if stupid articles are common place. Maybe it's just a right leaning magazine. The article is by Paul Johnson, a British historian, and he argues that anti-Americanism that's widely shared by Europeans, is simply racist envy. Some of the constructs he uses to defend his opinion are ... well ... bloody stupid. He argues European intellectuals envies American democracy. Two things wrong there ... 1) Americans have a democracy. They don't. It's not one person one vote. The popular candidate doesn't actually make it into power. Take the last election for example. 2) That the populist opinion is necessarily better than the intellectual. Just look at the American population. The intellectuals are outnumbered by bible thumping, gun toting, rednecks. This is a good thing for the world's most powerful country? I can go on ...

Day Tripping in Ontario It's a folksy site. But then again, if you're travelled rural Ontario, you'll know that it's a fit. The site is a great compliment to printed newspaper you'll find in small towns. It chronicles the events in small town Ontario, as well, as what's out there to cater to the Toronto tourist looking for something quaint before rushing back to the comfort of the busy city. There's quite a listing of B&B places, gift/craft shops, etc. If you're home with nothing to do, this is a site that may just get you out of the house.

Upcoming Events The great concert came, and went. The arguing continues. Who cares. Buy the DVD when it's released. Toronto is still a happening place. There were many events planned for the summer in Toronto, beside the hastily arranged concert. I've documented a few on my blog, as I wanted to make it to those events. Here's what you haven't missed yet (and I'm hoping to get to): August 8-10: Taste of the Danforth - it's more than just food, and it's more than just Greek food. There are lots of events planned, stuff for kids to do, etc., while the food will not be just Greek. If you've been down Danforth recently, you'll realize that the street is more than just little Greece. August 9-10: The Distillery District Outdoor Art Exhibition - I've never heard of this one, but it's art... outdoors. September 4-13: Toronto International Film Festival - over 300 films, in more than 50 languages. All in one week! September 28...

SparkNotes Here's a great site for any student studying literature. It's from Barnes and Noble, and contains full text of the classics, as well as analysis, interpretation and some annotation.