Went for a great bike ride today. About 25kms and found six geocaches. It was pretty cool out, but not horrible. Anyway. I'm tired and so I'm not writing anymore. Thats all. Good night.

Danse Macabre

Okay, this is the single greatest thing I've heard for a long time.

New poll!

New poll! Please vote! ========>

So as you know, I just got back from a few days in the mountains. I would like to write a little bit about something that I was thinking about while I was there. I don't expect that it will make much sense, as I'm very confused about it myself and I don't know the answer to it at all.
Hmm, it seems like I ask waaay more questions on this blog than I answer... But I suppose it's true that:

"The unanswered questions aren't nearly as dangerous as the unquestioned answers." (Anonymous)

Being in the mountains, I felt very, very small. It was wonderful in some ways, because I felt like all of my problems and concerns were all so insignificant and unimportant to the planet in general. I'm just one small person in the entire universe. It was refreshing.

On the other hand, I'm the only thing in the entire universe that I can control. So is it better to focus on the fact that the universe will go on without you and that your problems are insignificant in the scheme of things, or to focus on the idea that you and your problems are the only things you can control and focus on working on you and not thinking about the universe?

I guess that the best thing is to find a medium between them both- realizing that you can only control yourself, but working on bettering yourself so that you may have an influence on others.

Thoughts anyone?

Daniel, thinking out loud.

Camping, mountains…

I just got back from camping in the mountains. It was a really great vacation. It’s been said hundreds of times before, but there really is something about the mountains that is so rejuvenating, awe-inspiring, spiritually-provoking, or something. It gave me a lot of time to think and read, and I’m thankful for that. We did a whole bunch of hiking and saw some incredible views. It was seriously breathtaking. I feel like it was just what I needed. Now my challenge is: How can I better appreciate all the beauty and goodness that is all around me?

#$@(*$)@(#$!!!!!!!

Okay, so this post is all about swearing. Ha ha ha. I though it would be a funny topic for a post. To be honest, I find swearing pretty funny. I don’t find it offensive in the least. Why is the word f*ck any different than the word puck?  It’s just another word, isn’t it? Yet people find it so offensive. I think it’s rather interesting. Oh well, swear words will be swear words I suppose. Actually I think that a well chosen swear used at the right time is quite effective! Swearing itself doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is when a swear is (a) used in a derogatory manner towards another person, and (b) when it is used is such excess that it becomes meaningless. Come on, a swear is a swear, it’s not supposed to be used as a noun, adjective, adverb, pronoun etc. (in one sentence!). So yeah, I’m not completely against swearing, I think it has it’s place, but I think it is way overused in a meaningless way in our society. Personally, when I stub my toe, I’m much more inclined to say “bother!” then anything else, much to my companion’s amusement.

Daniel goes on vacation!

Hey everyone, I'll be out of town camping for the next four days, but I have a post scheduled to be published tomorrow (it's all about swearing!) Enjoy the next few days, and I'll be back posting on Friday or Saturday.

A great summer day

I had a very enjoyable day today (and it's not over yet!).

First off, this morning, I went busking at the downtown market. I've never been to that market before, but it's really neat! They block off a street and put the market there. With all the tall brick buildings, skyscrapers and scaffolding all around me, I felt like a struggling artist on the streets of New York. It was fantastic!

Then, I came home and went with my good friend Logan to a bike shop and an outdoors shop. I bought a little bag-type pouch to attach to my bike, and also a great little hacky-sack. Which has theraputic properties. I think so, at least. Logan just thought I was crazy. I am.

Then we went for slurpees, which is always a good thing, especially on a sunny, hot summer's day (+31 degrees!). It's funny, I'm more of a cold-weather person, but I gotta admit that I'm really loving this hot weather!

And then tonight, I'm volunteering at our local Shakespeare fest!

A perfect summer day. This is certainly how summer should be!

The Lion King musical!

So, I went and saw the musical of the Lion King last night. Oh. My. Gosh. How to describe it? Breathtaking. Stunning. Beautiful. Powerful. Overwhelming. Below is a video on youtube of the opening number (Circle of Life) with various clips from the show. It's full of beautiful costumes, singing and some phenomenal dancing. There are some scenes are just utterly overwhelming, because you get engulfed in this powerful music, and bright, swirling colours on stage. If you get a chance to see it, I highly recommend it.

Hey look, two rants in one day. Lucky you.

I am constantly amazed at the lack of tack and privacy on facebook. Can't anything stay off? Do you really have to tell the entire world when you're invited to something, etc.? Constantly, I see people posting a lot of stuff that is certainly sensitive material. Seriously, think before you post something. Use your brains, and think about whether it could hurt or affect somebody who might not share your joy. If you're old enough to use facebook, you're old enough to have tact.

I'm having a nice day, hope you are. :)

Gay men can't donate blood? What the...???

SOMEWHAT MATURE CONTENT BELOW

Are you ready for a rant? Well, you're going to get one.

I just found out that Canadian Blood Services does not allow gay men to donate blood. You can read their reasons for it here. They say that

"The basic premise for our policy pertaining to men who have had sex with men is that the prevalence and incidence of HIV is much higher in males who have had sex with other males than it is in individuals having exclusively heterosexual sex."

Sure, that's true, but cleanliness should be the issue more that sexual orientation. I can certainly understand that they are trying to keep people safe and stop HIV from spreading through blood, but seriously? Ban all gays from donating blood? Even the huge majority that is HIV free? And do they realize that 60% of all HIV+ people got it from exclusively heterosexual incidents? Perhaps CBS should have some kind of screening process for everyone to make sure that nobody has HIV, straight or otherwise. Sure, they might lose some donors, but they'd gain a lot of people from the GBLT community.

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. I feel like there has been a lot rushing through my head at the speed of light, but nothing that I can really put into words and a lot of confusing thoughts that would be strange to most people. But I promise I'll post something worth reading soon.

Busking at the Farmer's Market

Every Saturday, my city has a Farmer's Market. It's a really neat place to roam around, with all sorts of great food and interesting creations. I've been going for as long as I can remember. Another cool thing about it is the buskers. All different kinds of musicians playing different styles of music on different instruments. I remember when we'd go the the market, I would always stand and watch the buskers, fascinated. Then my mom would give me a loonie or a toonie and I would happily go and place it in the instrument case. It made my Saturday morning.
About a year ago, I started busking at the market, playing flute. It's really fun (and makes good money!). But I honestly don't just do it for the money. It makes me really happy to just stand there and play music for people. And growing up with it, I can appreciate how neat it is to have buskers at the market, and know how much it adds to the ambiance. I love seeing little kid's expressions, as they stand and stare at me in fascination. And then their parents will give them money to put in my case. Although sometimes they need a little prompting. This morning, a little kid walked confidently up to me and was about to lighten my case by a few coins, until his mom walked over and said "no, thats his money", and promptly gave him some money to put in. It pretty much made my day.
I'll likely post more busking stories in the future, as they come!

"In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.|

~Baba Dioum

What I look for in a movie

Lately, I've been thinking a bit about what makes a movie really good for me. Here are some things that are important to me in a movie.

1. Character arcs. The characters need to change throughout the movie, and go through some kind of journey.
2. I especially like movies where the movie is held up purely by the acting. Movies such as Doubt or Frost/Nixon are good examples of this, where the plots are fairly slow moving, but are made interesting by the acting.
3. Special effects are not important to me.
4. A clever plot is a plus, but is wasted for me if there isn't an emotional core to it.

Those are some things that I look for in a movie. What do you look for in a movie?