Spirituality – It’s Not Just Vanilla Flavoured

Ok, so this one could be a little controversial and possibly even a bit, you know, “uummmmaaaahhhhhh i’m dobbing on you!!” Well maybe so but it is something that I find fascinating and frustrating all at once. And from what I hear on the radio/TV/news feeds and numerous blogs lately I am not the only one ready to throw some preaching, loud mouthed bigot from the roof a very tall building! (you listening Margaret Court?)  Geez, that was a bit harsh was it? Well so is “you’ll burn in hell for eternity if you don’t do whatever the church says!!!” Since when in hell did the bible or it’s many spin off series ever say you cannot use a condom or contraceptive pill? Can you honestly see Moses dictating to the monks writing the bible “oh and another thing HE said when I was on that big hill over there, make sure there is a section that tells the minions to stay the fuck way from rain coats and never pop any pregnancy killing pills!!!” Nope, I can’t see it either….

Remember, NO rain coats, NO pills and NO freedom of thought!!!! (source: http://www.cartoonstock.com)

Look, I have nothing against organised religion or the people who believe in it. Fact is that I have even tried it myself on more than one occasion. I didn’t think it would suffice to just try one type, which would be akin to just trying vanilla ice cream and ignoring all the other mouth watering options out there. So I went and ventured into different flavours over the years!! I figured the more I broadened my view of what is available on the market, the more “qualified” I would be to make an informed decision on what flavour I liked best. Sadly for the preachers of those institutions none of them hit the sweet spot in my world to keep me going back as a return customer. Ahhh and there it is, the whole point of organised religion- “return customer”!

Think about that a for minute. Return Customer. They are businesses. Plain and simple. Money making juggernauts. Think Vatican city, the place where the richest individuals on earth, and possibly even the universe, reside. It should have a registered business name and sign on the gate reading The Pope and Co. Even the British Queen is jealous of those digs! Anyway, back on track…. This epiphany that organised religion is about nothing but big business concerned with the bottom line and controlling people, led me to the somewhat vague concept of “spirituality”. I say vague because although the term is gaining popularity and gradual acceptance among the non chemically altered citizens of the world, it is still a little Mickey mouse-ish to a degree. It is a very hazy description of something very personal and very different to each and every one of us.

Ahhh and there is the other epiphany item!! Something that is different to each and every one of us! Wow, imagine how annoying this spirituality caper must be to a card carrying, god bothering extremist. No CONTROL or REVENUE over the individuals concerned. Bugger bugger bugger. Shit shit shit. Damn damn damn.

It seems quite absurd really to think that there are still so many people part of organisations which are of the belief that they alone are correct and that anyone who doesn’t agree with them should be ridiculed, bullied, harassed and even eliminated in many cases. The greatest single cause of death, destruction and wars in human history is indisputable…. Religion. Quite astonishing considering it is supposed to be about love and forgiveness. Shame those two things don’t generate revenue in vast quantities to select individuals isn’t it.

Every god botherers standard pose when being challenged...

Personally I like to be different, a different flavour. Not just because it pisses the god botherers off (although that IS a bloody sweet bonus!) but simply because it is liberating to be free to think what I want, believe what I want and be a good person in MY ways. Surely if there is a God or some sort of deity who had nothing better to do one week than create a bunch fucking stick figures with attitude,

The most famous space slug we know...

then surely he would be impressed by those who do good things, treat others with respect and exercises the free will HE thought was so vital when HE created us? Or alternatively, as a very wise old man once asked me to consider, maybe HE doesn’t give a rats arse at all because HE is just a great big fuckin space slug who’s droppings left unwittingly as he passed by just happened to contain the bacterial building blocks needed for life to spring up on this obscure little rock? Notice I didn’t say “intelligent life”!! Interesting concept though isn’t it? Leads more to the Darwinian road which is more believable really…

Anyway, enough of my rantings! I’m already destined for smiting queue apparently. Just consider that there IS an alternative to the prescriptive, captive and very expensive ideals of organised religion. Consider that there are indeed many many different flavours of spirituality out there, all of them constrained only by the individual’s own power to dare to think outside the Vanilla Vatican, sorry I mean square, and be a good person without restriction and denial of anything fun and mostly harmless in life. Not to mention saving you enough money to enjoy the odd reefer while doing it!!

Mmmmmmm.....

Just a thought…

mLr

A Parasitic Disease is Destroying the World – The Politician sponsored Greed Machine

Everyone the world over is concerned about the future. Everyone the world over is looking for something or someone to provide an answer to what seems like the never ending saga that is called the “Global Financial Crisis” (GFC), or Global Financial Con to me…. Everyone the world over is failing to find anything to hang onto that might signal a positive outlook is indeed possible. Everyone the world over is getting very very tired of this situation. Everyone that is except the Politicians and the Big Business Executives of course. They are loving it. Thoroughly. Their share prices and profits have grown massively during the GFCon. And the people of every country are LETTING them get away with it. Letting the Greed Machine that created the GFC in the first place roll on and on and on!!!

We all look around and wonder why the cost of living is going up higher and higher by the day, why smaller and medium businesses are going broke by the day, why our wages don’t go very far at all and then the Pollies and their cronies just spend spend spend like there is no tomorrow! The simple reason is that none of these people in Parliament have ever had a real job, had to support themselves and their families on anything less than mega salaries with mega benefits, nor ever had to worry about how they will fund their retirement years. Wouldn’t it be nice to get a lifetime pension worth millions if you leave politics at 35? Without the taxation ordinary people have, and with hundreds of thousands of $$ worth of “entitlements” each year for life at taxpayer cost? And of course the freedom to go get another job paying gazillions whilst STILL COLLECTING this pension?

To say that Politicians are out of touch with reality and the real worlds issues of the people in the street is not sufficient any longer. It is not sufficient to hear them keep making the same feeble and pathetic promises we all know they have no intention of keeping. It is not sufficient to sit back and allow these parasites to keep taking huge chunks of everyday people’s pay packets for their own greedy benefits. It is not sufficient to hope that some masked crusader will ride on in and save us all from the Greed driven pollies and big businesses because that is not going to happen is it?

The pollies encourage and assist the largest organisations to create monopolies and duopolies to crush smaller to medium business. They do not regulate these industries as the revenue they can generate for the government is simply staggering and an opportunity not to be passed up. Banking, Grocery and Fuel companies are starting to combine and meld so that very soon we will see nothing but mega organisations who control everything. Grocery and Fuel has already been swallowed by just 2 organisations in Australia, with Banking the only standalone left. For now…

There are many out there who would love to get into Politics with the dreams and intentions of doing the right thing for the country they love. Sadly this is not possible in modern times and is just a pipe dream never to become a reality. Sadly the truth is that an individual cannot make a difference. Even a group cannot affect positive changes anymore. No the party line is all that matters, and this is a line that protects the fat cats in both politics and big business from losing their financial good things. If anyone dares to swim against the flow of the party line they are effectively shut down and eliminated from the party. They lose pre selection status for their seats, and are ridiculed and “assassinated” by the parties PR machines and spin doctors very very quickly. That is unless they change their tune and fall into line with the party’s line…

It would be nice to think by writing something like this that it would spread far and wide, and maybe even get a few people to think about the world and where it is at. Maybe even inspire someone somewhere to do something positive. Sadly I am all too aware this is fantasy and will not get out to many at all. Until the people of the world stand up and decide to be counted, stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH of all this corporate and government greed, it will just continue and probably get worse. We will keep electing incompetent and selfish parasites to government and keep watching as everything gets consumed by a couple of mega corporations to the point that they own it all one day.

Just think about it, even just a little bit. Nothing will change until we all do…..

mLr

Manners, iGen, Political Correctness and Ice Hockey!

Wow, been a while since my last post. Did not realise I was AWOL for that long. In some ways it would be good to still be AWOL! Looking around at the worlds issues in 2012 one has to ask the basics, like WTF? It seems everyone has become intolerant of everyone else! This concerns me greatly of course, so here is a feeble attempt to record a new low in my blogging career!!

You may be asking what has prompted this haphazard rant. Good question. If you did not ask this, then tough luck, you will find out anyway if you keep reading. As it happens, a boringly disinterested flick through the news.com.au website threw up some articles that really got my attention, so of course I just had to comment….

Manners relegated to history perhaps?

Manners. Well golly gee wiz I can’t imagine why this would be an issue anywhere in the world these days? Most wouldn’t know what manners were if they got bitten on the arse by them! Seems people with no manners are now complaining about everyone else with no manners. Interesting development. How the fuck do you get the idea to complain about something you don’t have yourself? Its like saying “hey you, why didn’t you say sorry to me when I walked into you?” Or “listen up you bastard, keep your fucking voice down when you’re talking on the phone so I can raise mine while talking on the phone, have some consideration for me will you!”. Mmmmmm….

.

i Gen. I know I know, this generational shit gets covered to death everywhere all the time. I am sorry. Nah just kidding, actually no I’m not! The thing that got me onto this subject was another article I read which was attached to the other article I read… Yes that was just as hard to type as it was for you to read I can assure you! Since when did a Generation get to change the letter before their category eh? I mean for HeyZuse sake, nobody BEFORE this under 20′s lot could do it could they? Apparently they prefer iGen instead of Gen Z. Seriously. In a survey this lot of children freely admit they have no manners, no consideration for others (hence the “i” in iGen) and generally couldn’t give a fuck unless it benefits them. Wow how original. Sounds more like a recycled Baby Boomer to me but with the addition of the obligatory “i” in front of it like everything else in society these days…… Maybe they should be called “yiGen Boomers Babies” then. Combine them with the Generation of ignorants currently labelled yGen and you get a generation of selfish, lazy, ignorant, narcissistic and generally obnoxious kids who are in it for themselves and nothing more. Mmmmm not very Politically Correct I know but the similarities to a Boomer with technology abilities is just freaky!!! Of course they are more than happy to take your money for nothing too whilst having no concept of just how easy they have it now…

They have it so easy now...

Political Correctness. More commonly referred to as “PC” now…. Here is a subject close to my heart! It never ceases to amaze me that everyone must be so PC to the point of everyone missing the point of everything anyone says to make sure they do not offend others…. It’s just plain fucking hard work and stupid if you ask me! God help us all in future when the yiGen Babies are running the show and we are all old. Can you imagine the conversations?

I'm offended now Mum!!

Person 1 : “Hi, how are person(s) this day?’

Person 2 : “Hi, this person(s) are fine, how are person(s) this day?

Person 1: It is good that person(s) are fine this day”……

All this just to say G’day to each other without offending anyone!!! Faaarrrkkkkkk……. What is really wrong with the old ways I ask?

Person 1: “G’day you old bastard, how the fuck are ya?” 

Person 2: “Yeah G’day arsewipe, I’m fuckin’ great, and you?” 

Person 1: “Any better mate and I’d be fuckin’ dangerous!” 

Ok maybe now that it is written down I can start to see a small issue…….

.

Ice Hockey. This is not an issue really, more just a selfish little indulgence to end things on a fun note! You see I totally luuuuurrrrrv the NHL. In particular the Vancouver Canucks. And they are kicking arse so far in the regular season too, although admittedly only after a very suspect start to the season. This sport is fast, brutal and just plain brilliant for so many reasons. The one’s that stand out most right now though are the utter lack of manners, PC and iGen!!!!! Yes folks there is no “after you”, “no after you!” on the ice. There is no “sir” or “ma’am” on the ice. There are no spoilt children with fucking iPods stuck to their heads on the ice! Mess with these guys and you will become a sad and sorry red coloured advertisement spread over the inside of the fence (boards) after being checked (rammed, pushed, hammered) into oblivion!

Maybe I am on my own being fed up with all this PC, lack of manners from anyone and other stupid anti social shit that we have to comply with these days? I know I sound like a dinosaur when saying this, but it used to be so much easier when you didn’t have to worry about offending all and sundry with a simple “hello”. The basic and decent elements of being a good person are almost gone. Sad really don’t you think?

mLr

You Have to be Kidding Right? No! Your Kidding Right? No…..

The world has just produced the story of a lifetime. A story so fucked up for so many reasons (most of them the wrong reasons of course!) that i could not help but have a rant. Just mind blowing. I won’t provide details here as that will just be giving a stupid person airtime, and I don’t like stupid people. So fuck off dumb arse.

The reason this has raised my dander is simple. A stupid person, weighing in at over 250kg (yes people, the size of a fucking tip truck!) gets a Dept of Housing place. Taxpayer funded. Said stupid person wants to be a rapper instead of earning a living. For HeyZuse’ sake, get a job and wear off a few hundred Kilo’s first dickhead. I have nothing against overweight people at all, but this story is a bit much I reckon.

It gets better though. Stupid person decides to sweep his floor one day. Not sure how he even got up off his hectare, but anyway apparently he did. He then falls through the floor due to his excessive weight! Tries now to sue the Dept of Housing for “providing an unsuitable residence to cater for his weight” and claims it is “termite ridden”. What. The. Fuck? It turns out he had not even paid his rent in the place for over 6 months, but it is apparently the Dept of Housings responsibility to “cater” to him at taxpayer expense!

I have some free taxpayer funded advise for you moron. 1) Get some help. 2) Get some fucking help. 3) For fuck sake, get some fucking help!

Ok feel better now that I have it off my chest. Not my normal style I know, but this just made me wanna puke all over the stupid person! Postscript to this is that both the Dept of Housing Commission hearing and the High Court have rejected this idiots claims, so at least the system has not totally failed the taxpayers! Costs may be paid by the taxpayers though as this stupid person is still unemployed….and still living in the SAME house!

Anyway, rant done, now onto the feel good story of 2012 about cracks found in the A380 Airbus wings which apparently pose no safety risk to passengers nor warrant grounding of affected jets… ….

mLr

I’d Like to Thank the Academy, My Mum and TDoT!

Ok so this has absolutely, positively nothing at all to do with academies or my mum….But it sounded cool didn’t it?

Moving right along then, to my great surprise, and quite possibly soon to be dismay, I have been kindly (or cruelly perhaps?) nominated for a blogging award by that fine word smith and master of maddness over at The Dissemination of Thought. This award is apparently called the Kreativ Blogger Award. Obligatory pic below….

WTF does this mean anyway?

Now I am told that in order to accept this award, I must do several things which may or may not be palatable to either myself or others… Firstly I must list out 10 things people do not know about me… Mmmmm this could get ugly! Secondly I must list 6 blogs I think are also deserving of the Kreativ Blogger Award. That should be easy as there are many I follow which are so much better than mine!

Onto the 10 things then….

1) I am a bloke. Yup born and bred with dangly bits between the legs. Just hoping now that as age creeps up on me I don’t grow any on the chest as well!

2) I have 2 massively awesome kids. 1 of each species to keep us endlessly entertained as they grow up and learn the how’s and how not’s of the world

3) Cars are my passion (outside of my family of course). If it has any potential to fall into the car/auto/motor category, I am there!

4)  The Big Bang Theory floats my boat big time! Has to be one of the best shows everrrrrrr!!!! Go Sheldon Cooper!

5) I hate Spiders….Sucks being me in Oz during summer believe me! Little bastards are watching me….always watching me…

6) I try to play the guitar, BADLY! Learning such a musical instrument in mid-life is so much harder than I ever imagined…

7) I have a vendetta against stupid people. For some reason they are allowed to breed, profusely. This must stop. NOW.

8) I like playing Golf. Don’t do it very often, or very well at all for that matter, but still enjoy it.

9) I crave humor and seek it out anywhere I can. No humor, no life I reckon! The twisted’er the better’er too…. Think Monty Python..

10) I now have a favourite new word – KREATIV. I just love the way it is spelded, and so much more now that I know TDoT hates it with a passion due to his speling and gramar OCD issues!

Enjoy this TDoT mwahahahahaha

Ok so that covers that off…I think anyway. Now for the 6 blogs I believe deserve the Kreativ Blogger Award, in no particular order! Drum roll please……

1- Impassioned Rantings of an Unbalanced Mind

2- Facehookin’

3- Wonderful Collisions

4- You’ve Been Hooked!

5- Solomonian

6- RoughDrafts

If I can remember to do it, your blogs pages will receive a little note to tell you about this!

So there you have it. And you can blame TDoT for that painful read!!! Thanks heaps though, it is nice to know you either have no real friends and are trying to get my attention, or really just found something worth readin’ on me Blog! Reelly, thanks… :-)

Oh I nearly forgot, I found this awesome pic for you  TDoT, which will be appreciated so much I am sure! Enjoy!

mLr

Weather Bureau’s, Australia and of course Global Warming

Newsflash!!! It is summer in Australia. No seriously it is. Not that you would have known it recently had you been here. Summer started in the land down under on the first day of December last year. For those unaware it is now this year (2012), and not last year (2011) any more, so I suggest you put that $3 wine cask down for a minute, poke your mug out from under that cardboard box and look around!!! Maybe even move a little and speak to someone. But hey don’t get too carried away there now!

So what when am I in now?

The news via all forums has been absolutely buzzing with word that our cooler weather is gone for the time being and the annual dose of heat is here. Southern and Western Australia have endured a nightmare week or 2 of heat wave conditions and now face the resulting bush fire threat associated with such temperatures. Nasty stuff if you live there and we all hope everyone gets through it unscathed.

For those of us in the north-eastern areas, it has been wet ish and reasonably pleasant until now. This time last year it must be remembered half the city was flowing down the Brisbane river at warp speed into Moreton Bay! Many lost their lives and many more lost everything they own. Again nasty stuff indeed. Luckily these conditions have not repeated themselves again.

Back to the focus of this aimless story… The whole weird weather pattern thing worldwide has got me thinking about this Global Warming stuff again. Seems nobody can agree on what is going on or going to happen. Weather people say X and scientists say Y.  Fuck me people, can someone please work it out and let us all know sometime soon please? Now I don’t profess to be an expert on weather, history, science or anything else that is allegedly used to measure and forecast this stuff. I do however have eyes and ears, so it seems I am able to forecast my local weather far better than the bureau most of the time…. I can lay claim to this ability as I have regularly known my area was being absolutely pummelled by huge storms looong before the bureau has even issued storm warnings over the past several years….. When it is raining on you INSIDE your house you just have an inkling that something unusual is going on outside don’t you? Cop that weather bureau!

Forecast: Mostly sunny with the chance of apocalypse...

We keep hearing that sea levels are rising rapidly, Arctic/Antarctic ice is melting at some ridiculous rate of metres per year, the hole in the ozone is expanding at a rate that will see the earth disappear up its own arse in the very near future etc etc. I can’t for that traffic warning of an iceberg which has drifted onto the freeway…… How does the average Joe on the street take all this in I ask? It is pretty heavy stuff that has the potential to make kids run screaming to mummy and daddy asking if the world will end soon! Of course the answer is “YES my child, but lets not get hung up on that right now and go clean your room up so it’s nice and tidy for the apocalypse!”

Honestly there have been record freezes in Europe and the North America’s (yes that includes you too Canada, sorry bout that!). One of the coolest starts to the Southern hemisphere summer in aeons, and many other strange weather patterns that don’t really scream out “your all going to burn and or drown!!”. Not saying that won’t happen of course as I’m no expert remember, but it’s not looking likely right now is it? If anything the indicators are that we will have bloody snow in tropical Australia during summer in the next few years! I can just see the picture of the snap frozen weather bureau person in Brisbane who went outside to see what the weather was like. Cooolllll….. (pardon pun)

Gee I wonder what the weather will be today...

No matter how you cut it and dice it, the weather has been really weird in recent times. Now there are earthquakes, volcanoes and all sorts of extremes everywhere all the time it seems. Maybe the original thoughts on the Mayan end of world prediction in 2012 were right after all? Maybe come December it will be THE END?

mLr

I can fly!!! Uh oh Bugger, no I caaaannnnn’t!!!

The holiday period brings with it a lot of interesting moments for us all, especially when you are a big kid yourself and the real kids get some new and awesome toy you take a liking too. That is unless you’re a boring old biddy/bastard with a bad attitude and poor personal hygiene, but I digress….

Kids generally get a lot of crap from the jolly big man in red each year, with the majority worthy of nothing more than a fleeting memory of money once resident in your pocket, now resident in the garbage bin after little Johnny/Johnnyette got a little too vigorous at play and snapped/crushed/shattered then discarded most of it.

There are however some items that rank up there with the best in terms of FUN FUN FUN. Not just for the real kids, but for the BIG kids too! Now you might be thinking I am about to lurch down the road of Toy Story-ish activities such as dad playing dolls with little Johnnyette or Lego with little Johnny. Nope not even close. But maybe some of us should consider those activities instead….

This dad has discovered an unbelievably fun activity. One that provides exercise with a sense of freedom and speed. One that provides an opportunity to do something with the kids instead of just watching them from a distance. I speak of none other than the humble and re-invented scooter!! Yes those fine folks at Madd Gear have created an item that is nothing short of brilliant – the MGP Pro Scooter! Yes this little pearler is truly the most addictive thing to be unleashed on parents since…well since…can’t think of much else but if I do I will get back to you straight away!

This bugger of a thing is truly amazing. However it does have a downside. A big and potentially dangerous one at that. But before I draw the ire of the maker’s lawyers, I need to stress that it isn’t a flaw in the design, or the scooters fault in any way whatsoever. No, it’s the ability of the parent to actually ride the thing safely. Or not as it turns out!

Ok, ok I will get to the point. I sit here writing this nursing a sprained wrist/thumb and a bruised ego. Oh and a burning desire to go and get me one of these things for myself!!! You see Boxing Day 2011 changed me forever. Ok well not forever as that’s a friggin long time, but at least until the swelling goes down anyway. My home city has many waterfront parks and walkways, all with fantastic concrete paths designed for cycling, walking and other such activities. Thankfully in places it also has grass run off’s for errant out of control parents trying to be 10 years old again too!! Taking on the kids in races up and down the walkways seemed like such a fun idea at the time. Seemed like a harmless activity we could all participate in. I am now rethinking that idea a little and plotting a bigger and better approach, one which does not involve this dad sending my kids and other onlookers into frenzied, hysterical laughter at the sight of a middle-aged kid doing cartwheels over the handlebars of a bright orange kids scooter! That’ll teach me not to try cutting my daughter off at warp speed won’t it…..

No it won’t actually, because this big kid will do it again, and again and then again no doubt! But wiser next time. Yes MUCH wiser. I now have a plan. An evil plan. Time to see if I can get a big kids version and line up on the starting grid again, ready to take out the kids and any other dumb arse parent as Madd as me! Let’s see those little pre teen, cherub faced wannabe’s race against something bigger, faster and quite possibly more insane. Maybe even a motorised version! Yes, a motor is a brilliant idea so when I run out of puff I won’t stop! Shouldn’t be too hard to modify one you’d think… Mwahahahahaha this is sounding better by the second now!

Damn this could get ugly in a hurry!

Ok, well I am off to go book that hospital bed now so there won’t be any waiting when it all turns to shit!! Wish me luck.

mLr