$65 mil to marry daughter? Hmm….

Chinese pastry Gaa Neoi Bing or Marry girl cake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am sorry guys, I guess I wasn’t as much as a family man as I had you believed.  Or maybe I am too fickle and love money a bit too much.  Whatever it is you would like to call me, I accept.  I wasn’t the man I pretended to be.  Well I was, until this morning when I read this.

A Chinese businessman is offering $65 million to any man who would marry his lesbian daughter. All he seeks in the man is that he is ‘kind-hearted’.  You guys know that I’m kind hearted, right? You’ve read all my kind-hearted blogs about the good stuff I do for my family, at least up until this morning, so don’t give me that!  You know I fear God.

As I write this blog, my heart is heavy.  I am about to do what I swore never to do, abandon my family.  My boys, my awesome wife.   All for the love of money.  But it’s not just money, it’s $65 mil! Think of what I could do with all that.  Even in China.  Think of all the electronics I could get.  And all just for marrying a rich man’s lesbian daughter? Piece of cake.  It’s not like it’s his gay son, I would have had to say no to that one.

Ok seriously now, how could I put a price on the happiness my family brings me? I can’t.  I am married to the world’s best woman with three of the most adorable and precious kids out there.  $65 Mil could never give me that.  As the song goes, “Money can’t buy me love”.  Plus, Gigi told her dad that she’s actually married to her partner and has been for seven years now.

Sorry sir, I’ll have to pass.  Thanks for the offer though, you will have to find another kind-hearted man.  Good luck with that, we are hard to find.

65 million quids worth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Photo credit: jef thomas)

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• Hong Kong Tycoon Offers Bounty to the Man Who Marries His Lesbian Daughter (theatlanticwire.com)
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Church Clothes

Growing up in the St. Vincent, my choice of clothes was limited due to financial constraints.  That did not stop me from having what we called ‘church clothes’.  Church clothes were set aside to wear to church on Sundays.  It was just wrong to wear them on any other day.  (I guess this is where the term Sunday best came from).

My church clothes were not limited to just pants and shirts, they also included underwear, shoes and socks.  It was understood that everyone had his or her church clothes.  It was normal.  At least to me.

When I moved to Canada, I brought this custom with me and separated my regulars from my church clothes.  If I did not attend church, my clothes sat unworn.

It was with some reluctance that I first wore a pair of jeans to church.  Even though I blended in with every other non-church-clothes-wearing worshipper, I felt like an outcast.  Here I was dressed like a commoner in the presence of God! How disrespectful!  I grew up in Catholic household where even my grandmother tried to upstage those who were half her age by dressing to the nines.

Later, I changed churches and attended The Seventh Day Adventist Church and we wore our Sunday Saturday best at church.  Jackets and ties were common.  We dressed to impressed, I’m just not sure who.

I am now a member of a jeans and t-shirt wearing church.  Shorts and slippers are not uncommon.  You are even allowed to enjoy your favorite brew as you listen to the sermon.  There is a casual air of acceptance in this church.  Last week I even saw a woman wearing sweats with paint all over the backside.  That, I thought was pushing it a bit.

Talking about pushing it, some church members and non-members seem to get carried away by the lack of a dress code and go overboard with their choice of attire.  Last week, as I looked towards the screen to read the words of a song, the sight of a naked flesh caught my eye.  Instinctively, my eyes zeroed in on the distraction and it was a young woman wearing a back-exposing top.  I am a Christian but I’m also a man. A heterosexual man, so yes, I found it a bit distracting.

A church is made up of all kinds of struggling people.  It’s the reason we are there, right? right??  That and to praise God.  If I had a drinking problem, the last thing I would want to see is someone drinking in the place where I came to get help.  If I had a sexual problem, a church with female church members flashing legs and cleavages would not be in my best interest now, would it?

I know some of you women had that sexy dress or top that has hung in your closet for a long time because you gained some weight.  Now you have worked hard and lost a few pounds and understandably, you want to show off your new bod and wear the dress you haven’t worn in forever.  Props to you! Congrats!  But church is just not the place to wear it.  We are here for you and support you in your weight loss but can we get an hour or so to focus on God and not your body?

The Food Of Love – Country?

Keith Urban crooning for the ladies

I grew up listening to old country music blasting throughout our house on Sunday mornings.  (Yes, we listen country in the islands.  Bet you never thought that).  From Hank Williams Sr. to Jim Reeves to Kenny Rogers, we had the lovesick blues.

I still love country music.  I prefer the old stuff as the line that separates the new stuff from pop or rock genre is blurred and for nostalgic reasons.  Sundays were the days we relaxed and even though I am not sure how relaxing listening to a song about losing ones lover could be, we found solace in the country songs that could be heard emanating from just about every house that had a radio.

Country is often labeled as redneck music and sappy.  The dog left and the wife left with the truck of course.  There’s a joke that goes like this, ‘What do you get when you play a country song backwards?’  ’You get your house back, your wife back, your dog back…’ With a young, bright and good-looking stable of singers like Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Taylor Swift to name a few, Country is hipper than it has ever been.  It is no longer the music your parents listen to.

So is Country music the food of love? Well it could be the food for D.I.V.O.R.C.E and picking up girls in the bars.  There are some good country love songs that bring out that loving feeling but there are more that makes you want to take a baseball bat to your ex’s pimped out ride or make you believe that Earl really had to die.  So maybe it really isn’t the food of love.

The search continues…stay tuned.

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• The Food Of Love – Rap?

Bus driver gives own shoes to homeless man

Official logo of Winnipeg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Winnipeg, the daily news is scary.  Stabbings, muggings, shootings, all sort of acts of violence and criminal activities.  That all changed yesterday when a transit driver pulled over, abandoned his bus and gave the shoes off his feet to a homeless man.  What a selfless act!  The good Samaritan did not want the accolades that would accompany such a gesture and has opted to remain nameless.  If only we could duplicate this, what a wonderful world it would be.  Apparently, his passengers were moved to tears by what he did.

Note:  (Sept. 21 update) Bus driver Kris Doubledee finally came forward to admit he was the good Samaritan.  His story gained worldwide media coverage and this morning, he will fly out to New York to be on CBS This Morning. I hope his story helps to awaken something in us that drives us to do selfless acts.

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The Dissed Duchess of Doff

English: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, on her first royal tour, visiting Ottawa for Canada Day celebrations. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Royals and their subjects are mad but not rioting mad, over the lack of privacy that saw photos of the Duchess plastered in French and Italian tabloids.  Photogs apparently did not read their memo on Royal privacy.

A photographer or photographers, took some photos of the Duchess of Cambridge enjoying some sun while topless.  (Stop me if that sounded all too familiar).  The photos were leaked or sold to a French tabloid then later showed up in an Italian paper also.  Still sounds familiar?  Well this has turned into a Royal Pain indeed.

I am sorry but I have no interest in this antiquity.  I have nothing against the royal family and think that Kate seems like a lovely young woman and the Queen, a beautifully aging woman but that’s where it ends.  I think that queens and kings have outlived their usefulness and belong in fairy tales.  Plus, it’s a ‘what have you done lately?’ thing for me.

So understandably, I do not see the big deal in making a fuss over something that is becoming quite normal these days, the breach of someone’s privacy.  Of course the royal couple deserves their privacy, we all do.  Even Lindsay Lohan and Britney. (Except when we voluntary do something silly like take nude pics while in Vegas, then we get what we deserve).   Privacy is a scarce commodity, some give it up willingly, others reluctantly and some have it snatched from them.

Kate is a celebrity.  Her and her husband are one of the most photographed couples in the world.  Knowing this, what would make Kate think that a private château was a good place to flash her private?  Even if that resort was listed as ‘private’.   Poor gullible Kate.  You learn from your mistakes.

Should heads roll over this? Of course not!  Did heads roll when her brother-in-law’s Vegas pics were leaked?  It’s the life you live, it comes with the territory. Grin and bear it.  Live and learn, you voyeur you!

Note:  This is just my take.  I realize that we are all entitled to some degree of privacy but in a world where money rules, how many photographers would pass up a big pay-day in the name of respecting one’s privacy?  It’s a sad world folks.

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• Duke and Duchess of Cambridge ‘angered’ by topless pictures (itv.com)
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What Would Muhammad Do?

A film depicting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad was recently released.  Apparently, it showed the him as a womanizer and a pedophile among other things.  Followers of Islam were not impressed in the least, understandably.  But, would a man who spoke peace and claimed to be a messenger from God,  take kindly to blood being shed on his behalf, especially innocent blood?  What would Muhammad do in this case?

As we speak.  Or as I blog, thousands of Muslims are rioting in countries around the world.   (Some call it protesting but it’s not a protest, it’s a riot).  They are engaging in criminal acts that I am sure would be frowned upon by their prophet.  Shouldn’t they be practicing the fruit of the spirit?  (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23.)

If the video wrongly depicted Muhammad, I am certain that these uprisings are not doing him any favors either.

Just my take.

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Cell Phone Issue

English: T-Mobile’s G1 phone (HTC Dream), using Google’s Android software (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Know what makes me uncomfortable?  When someone gets a new cell and they are showing it off to me and hands it to me to check out.  Now where do I start? Ok it has apps. Most phones do.  What else do I look for?  How long should I keep it in my hands to not seem rude? Should I make a test call? What? What? What do you want me to do with the thing??  I feel the same way when someone passes me a freshly born baby.  Cute but what do you want me to do with it? 

 

Now I like my electronics, don’t get me wrong.  I am just not a huge fan of the ever-evolving-but-staying-the-same cell phones.  Maybe I need to text more or play more cell-based games.  Yeah, maybe that’s what my problem is.  I am underexposed to the infinite power of the smartphone.  Until a couple of months ago, I didn’t even own a smartphone.

I am lukewarm on cell phones.  As long as it’s a smartphone, I don’t see what all the fuss is about.  How many Gs does one really need? What’s a G, anyways? So understandably, I don’t get it when my friends get all giddy on their Facebook statuses about their impending acquisition of the latest in cell phone technology.  ”I get my iPhone today!!! Woot! Woot!”  Woot Woot?

The art of writing

 

Writing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

This blog should have been aptly titled, ‘The lost art of writing’ since that is exactly what it is, lost.

 

While listening to the radio yesterday, yes I do subscribe to ancient technology sometimes, the announcer was having a contest where the question was about the small number of people who still do a certain act, to which the act was ‘writing love letters’.  And I’m not talking about writing on Word or Notepad.   Love letters tediously written by applying pen to paper.  Don’t laugh, believe it or not, we did that in the not-too-distant past.

 

Well I had never paid much attention to this dying art, if you could call it that.  I did, however,noticed that when I had to take a step backwards and actually write, it was an embarrassing process.  The pen felt awkward in my hand and I could not settle on a style.  The finished product looked like an insect had fallen into a jar of ink and after making its way out, wandered blindly across my page.   My writing always left something to be desired but with effort, I usually could produce something of worth.  Now it was just a humbling experience.

 

Remember cursive?  If not, don’t worry about it, it’s gone the way of the dinosaurs.  Why search for a writing utensils when your phone is in your hand and text-ready?  Even email-ready also.  It’s a shame.  The more we advance, the more we deteriorate.

 

The female announcer, apparently of the old school demographics, challenged listeners to write a love letter to their loved ones.  I liked that.  Maybe it’s too late to resurrect the art of writing but it sure would be refreshing to get a hand-written love letter once in a while, wouldn’t it?  Hey Christi, could you maybe post those letters on your station’s website?

 

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• Post Script: Hannah Brencher, The World Needs More Love Letters (crane.com)
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The Food Of Love – Rap Music?

English: Eminem performing at the DJ hero party on June 1, 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“If music be the food of love, play on…” Said Duke Orsino in one of my favorite quotes and one of my favorite Shakespeare novel, Twelfth Night.

Music could indeed be the food of love and much more.  It has the capability to transcends barriers, whether racial or otherwise.  It is one of the most powerful tool available to man but can also be a dangerous weapon if in the wrong hands.  Music can be the food for other things that are not so loving.

In a series of blogs, I will set out to look at some of the more popular genres that I regularly listen to and how they affect me and maybe even you.  Are they the food of love? Or the food of anger, hate and other anti-social behavior?  I enjoy all music and each affects me differently.  Now let’s unwrap rap music.

Forgive me if I step on toes or go against the grain with my take.

As a bar-hopping twenty and thirty-something, rap was my get-me-pumped music of choice.  If I wanted to get attitudal, rap was the pill.   At the bars, I would chill and listen to the likes of Easy E and NWA.  Under the influence of rap, straight or mixed with alcohol, I walked around feeling like I should be packing heat and wasting all haters who dissed me or got all up in my grill.  When the music stopped, I was unfortunately, still just skinny old me, who wouldn’t hurt a fly.  Some of my friends were more influenced and succumbed to the music.  Fights after the bar were all too common.  ”Step to me, punk! How you gonna play me, bi@@h!” were the common phrases tossed around.  (Now where have you heard them before?).

I  drove around with rap music pulsating through my windows and dared the drivers beside me to do something about it.  Rap made me feel tough. I wanted to have that ‘who cares’ attitude just like the rappers did. They looked at me menacingly from my tv screen and beckoned me to join some sort of rap brotherhood.   Even the way I drove was influenced by the music and videos I watched.   Leaning way too far back in my seat with one arm outstretched on the wheel and my head tilted.  Total gangsta.  If I was listening to rap, I had to look the part.  I wasn’t packing heat but I felt like I was.  I was ready to throw down.

Rap music preys on our young children’s mind.  With lyrics that promote bullying, drug use and criminal lifestyle, it appeals to their longing to fit in and be a part of the scene.  White teeny girls feel tough as they talk gangsta and hang with the rapper crowd.  Boys wear their pants around their knees as their idols do and use disrespectful language and signs.  Love is definitely not in the air.

This is not saying that rap music on a whole is bad and should not be listened to.  It would be hypocritical of me as I know that there are some very good rappers out there who deserve a listen.  Eminem is a master at his craft.  A few questionable lyrics in some of his songs but one of my favorite lyricist.  There’s also Rap Gospel for those who like rap but want something with a positive message.  Rapping is an art form.   I envy the way my fledgling-rapper nephew could put lyrics together effortlessly and spit like a quick-firing machine gun without biting his tongue.

In my opinion, no music genre right now packs a powerful but negative punch as rap does. From clothing, to speech, to video games, rap has the market cornered.  As for being food of love, I say nay.

Check back for my take on Country.

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Dissecting a mass murderer. Can we stop them?

James Holmes (Photo credit: DonkeyHotey)

As a kid, I was cruel to small animals.  I slowly tortured lizards and small insects just to watch them die.  I had a pellet gun that I used to shoot birds as they sat on a wire sunning themselves.  Chickens were target practice for my  deadly rock throwing  arm.   Our cat was not spared.  I would test his agility by tossing him from heights.  All this while living in St. Vincent and only there.

Now the reason I am telling you this is not to brag or boast.  I am not proud of what I did but everyone’s got skeletons, right?  I want to ask, could all the above be signs of a psychopath in the making?  If I had been the guy who gunned down those people in the theater, you would have been reading about my exploits in the newspapers instead of this blog.  Witnesses to my dirty deeds would have come forward to attest to my guilt.  From my acts as a kid, they could see it coming, they would say.   “Oh, I am not surprised, he abused dogs when he was a kid.” they might say.  ”There was just something about him.” Another might say,  So what’s the difference? What separates me from the other guy who apparently had a less checkered past?

James Holmes, the latest mass murderer in the US, was an exemplary student in university.  His only other previous misdemeanor was a speeding ticket.  No cruelty to animals or humans for that matter.  As we speak, it’s a media frenzy out there with everyone trying to find something, anything that could shed some light on this good boy gone bad.  An ex? Abused as a kid? Bullied? Terrorist indoctrination?  Talk show hosts try to explain how it could happen. Each voicing just their own opinion.  Still no one knows.

Maybe a stellar student suddenly struggling through his classes was a sign but is that enough for the cops to take interest in someone?  Hardly sounds like the making of a mass murderer, you have to agree.  But what sounds like the making of a mass murderer?  Abusing small animals as a kid?  Then if so, I am not realizing my true potential, am I?

While at the hospital waiting to have my blood drawn for testing, I thought, what if I went out,  got a gun and started shooting  the people in the waiting room? Would I derive any pleasure from that? I felt disgusted even thinking about it but I had to.   I would have checked myself into a psych ward or turn myself in to the authorities if I had gotten excited over that thought.  Thankfully, the thought made me disgusted and I concluded that it would not be a pleasurable experience to watch people die at my hands.  But then, I am not a psychopath.  I am not sick and my wiring is intact and I hope they stay that way.

So no matter how much we try to dissect, the mind of a madman will always be something we can never understand.  We will never be able to point out with any degree of certainty, who among us is going to go postal.  Can we stop them? How could we if we don’t know who they are and how they think?  Scary huh? Don’t lose sleep over it.

Note:  I love and respect all living things.  What I did as a kid was due to not knowing any better.

Just my take.

Related articles

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