Hecla Camping 2011

Went on a little camping trip this weekend to Hecla. We really should be camping here all the time. So many great sites and so much to do.

New Job

Last week school started and that means I was back to work at Victoria Albert School in the Winnipeg School Division. I found this job on the SubFinder and took it even though it was a term position for just 2 months. In just a couple of days I fell in love with this school and the position. I was working in a grade 2 class with an amazing teacher and kids that I just wanted to take home with me at the end of the day. It was also an EA C position which meant a little more money than what I thought I would be making to start this year so that was a bonus as well.

On Tuesday of this week I interviewed for a permanent position in Pembina Trails School Division and was offered the job on Wednesday. It’s an awesome opportunity for me to be “permanent” but it was a heart breaker having to talk to my Principal and the teacher I have been working with to start the year. We are working so well together and have been making great progress with the kids. I will miss them a lot.

That being said I am very excited about my new position and whatever the future may hold in Pembina Trails. If you told me this year was going to start like this I never would have believed it. I pictured myself slugging it out on the sub lists for a couple years at the very least.

It’s nice to know all that hard work over the last year has really paid off.

Tinkertown and Back To Work

We finally made it out to Tinkertown this summer with Lexi. I can’t remember ever going there, even as a kid. I know I must have but nothing other than the ferris wheel you can see from the road looks vaguely familiar. This is normally where I complain about the cost of such a kid friendly place but I have to admit that it wasn’t that expensive. I think it’s bullshit that Mom and Dad can’t share a wristband to accompany their child on the merry-go-round but it was worth the extra $10.50 (the .50 is the vinegar in the wound) so that one didn’t have to go stand beside “the dotted one” every time.

I have to say I was really impressed with Lexi. She wanted to try anything and everything. She is a ride savage. The first ride she went on was the little spaceships. They just spin around and make noise but by the look on her face she was just trying to figure the whole thing out. I figured we should start slow and work our way up but she wanted to go on the roller coaster next so who was I to say no? I went on with her and it’s just a little ride but you get tossed around quite a bit, especially when you weigh 22lbs. I thought fersure that the head bouncing off my ribs would be enough for Lexi to write that ride off but when we got off she wanted to go again…and again…she just couldn’t get enough!

I decided near the end of the day that it was time to try the big pirate ship they hide in the back. It’s the one you see at the Ex that rocks back and forth and gets higher with each swipe until it is basically 90 degrees in the air and gravity itself can’t keep your bum on the seat. Lexi and I were first in line so we sat in the last row where you get the thrill of nothing but sky at your back. We started rocking and I had Lexi half on the seat and half on my lap. As it got higher people started screaming and raising their hands over their head. I kept checking Lexi for tears but every time I looked at her there was nothing but a huge smile on her face. When we reached the highest swoop Lexi raised her hands over her head and yelled at the top of her lungs “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”. As soon as we got off she ran to Shannon and asked “can I go with you now Mommy?”.

What a great day.

I accepted a job posting at Victoria Albert school for September and October. I am both excited and uneasy. On one hand it’s what I went back to school to achieve and I will have a steady pay coming in for at least the next two months. On the other hand I am not sure what it’s going to be like not to see Lexi’s face when I open my eyes in the morning and she tells me that the sun is awake. Can I survive the day if it doesn’t start with cuddles on the couch and warm milk? I know that Shannon is more than capable but who will cut the crusts off her toast and make sure she doesn’t drink all her juice in one breath?

There is a little bit of a sick feeling in my gut when I think about all that. Maybe I have been off with her a bit too long? Maybe not long enough.

Where Did You Hear That Word?

Table 9

JP is getting married at the end of this month so I thought this might be appropriate.

Joe Rogan On WTF

For those who don’t know, Joe Rogan and Marc Maron have had a bit of a running feud over the years. Joe Rogan doesn’t like Maron for his comments regarding Joe’s confrontation with Carlos Mencia. On the flip side Maron admits to not liking Rogan because he feels like he sold out by doing Fear Factor and feels like Rogan shouldn’t be such an advocate for comedians after hosting a reality show.

The first thing that turned off of Maron’s Podcast was the commercials, talk about selling out. The next thing that bothered me was that he started his Podcast with a rant about irony and integrity. Knowing what I do about Maron’s thoughts on Joe Rogan, and the fact that Rogan was his guest that particular day, I could only assume he was setting up his argument before his guest even arrived.

He mentions Charlie Sheen because he’s an easy target and that’s what bullies do. He can’t just talk about Joe Rogan because he needs to face him for the interview. Instead he leads the listener to agree with his thoughts on ironic detachment so that you can relate to him later in the Podcast. When he actually faces Rogan he asks in a much less confrontational tone how someone doing comedy with integrity can work on a show like Fear Factor, and at the same time make fun of it? Instead he makes believe that he was thinking about some guys sitting in a strip club making fun of the strippers through what he calls “Ironic Detachment”.

This crap goes on and on as Maron plants the seed for his later discussion with Rogan.

It’s very obvious to me that the guys in the strip club mocking the strippers are Joe Rogan making fun of Fear Factor. Maron is the guy pulling his pud under the table at an opportunity like Fear Factor. He is convinced that it’s his integrity that keeps him from accomplishing such financial freedom, when in fact it is his own lack of enthusiasm and talent. Tragically ironic that Maron hosted on a similar game show that never caught on. He just never had the chance to show his integrity before it was cancelled. How ironic that his distaste for Rogan stems from that very same brand of selling out.

He says that he “took it in the ass for money…”, got lucky that the show was cancelled, and who knows what he might have become if he had continued to do that job? Um, maybe successful and not working out of your garage?

Once Rogan is on the scene there is a bunch of uncomfortable small talk before Maron jumps into what he doesn’t like about Joe. Maron can’t comprehend how Joe can host Fear Factor and still do an intelligent brand of comedy. How can Joe Rogan, the host of Fear Factor, care so much about comedy that he calls out Carlos Mencia for stealing jokes? He keeps leading Rogan to this path of Fear Factor regret that he wants Joe to repent and it just doesn’t exist.

• Do you feel like you sold out?
• Is it a weighty cross to bare?
• Did it go too long?
• What impact did Fear Factor have on the comedy business and television?
• Do you think you put comedy writers out of work by doing reality TV?
• Does the UFC clear your conscience about doing Fear Factor?
• How would (your dead friend) Bill Hicks feel about Fear Factor as a reality?

Really, your going to make Joe Rogan guilty about doing Fear Factor because Bill Hicks might frown upon a show where you encourage people to eat animal dicks?

One of the questions that bothered me the most was: Do you feel like you contributed to the dumbing down of society? Like don’t you feel bad to be a part of a show that makes people stupid? So Maron is insinuating that people who watch Fear Factor are stupid? When I heard this I went back to a conversation I was having with my friend about Fear Factor coming back on and how pumped I was that Joe had signed on to host it. He told me he didn’t like it. Thought it was moronic. It wasn’t his intent to make me feel dumb for liking it because he knows how much I like Rogan but I wondered how much Maron’s take influenced him.

This crap about writers being out of work because of reality television and Rogan feeling guilty for being a part of it is nonsense. Imagine being a cashier and your store installs a bunch of self checkouts that the customers really seem to like. Your offered a job to be that guy who oversees the self checkouts while a bunch of other cashiers with less seniority are being laid off. Do you pass on the job as a matter of integrity?

At the end of the podcast I was hoping that Rogan would eventually get pissed off and defend Maron’s offensive questioning with a Darth Choke. I wasn’t 100% satisfied with Joe’s own defensive mechanism while being probed about Fear Factor and selling out. What I wanted to hear was “Fuck ya, Fear Factor was fun and I made a shit load of money. Don’t like it, don’t watch it dummy”. It seemed more like he needed to condone his actions and convince Maron that he was still a legit comic while he was hosting the show. It doesn’t matter.

I also loved Maron’s questioning about steroids.

My friend and I had a prior debate on another occasion while watching the UFC as to whether or not Joe was on steroids. I said no and he said fersure. That was another reason he told me to listen to this particular instalment of WTF. He said that Joe admits to doing steroids. Now I know why this show is called: What the fuck? I didn’t hear anything of the sort.