SaggyBalls

how long is the walk for groceries/laundry?

Hey - had to reel people into this somehow. I really do like how diet cola is sweet but not sticky, but artifically sweetened anything isn't real food - quite a bit like 'Low Fat' or 'Fat Free' foods are filled with additives that are more harmful to the human body than the fat they replace. As far as the Aspartame 'debate', it's not a natural substance and although methanol and formaldehyde are trace byproducts of natural metabolism, the levels of Formaldehyde in the average American's diet because of chewing gum, diet soda, and other artifically sweetened products is the other side of the story that is so easily smoothed over by the 'you would have to drink over fifteen hundred cans of soda to reach toxicity' line. Above 86 degrees farenheit, liquid aspartame turns into Formaldehyde...so in actuality, many products don't contain Aspartame by the time they reach our stomachs. This is not myth it is chemical fact. Consistent low level ingestion of / exposure to toxins of any kind is not healthy. "safe" and "healthy" are very different. "Not wholly Unsafe" is closer to the mark that the FDA uses. Many People avoid eating MSG and Organic farming is causing an economic revolution yet the debate about Aspartame continues as if it is important to the survival of humanity. Monsanto has profited a lot from this wholly unnecessary product. Yes, Monsanto. "But tests show it's not toxic" is easily trumped by "this product has no positive value in a healthy diet" and even with claims that aspartame is metabolized into molecular chains that are the precursor for the Amino Acid 'Tyrosine' there's never been any claim that aspartame increases levels of Tyrosine and if there were it would be touted as one of the most important food additives known to man because of it. Whether one believes the 'toxicity' reports to be true, a diet of real food is undeniably healthier than one of man made chemicals. The unfortunate side of the discussion is that most websites that are dedicated to criticizing the use/sale of Aspartame are often linked to detox and natural sweetener products. Though these websites have to somehow pay for themselves, to some an alternative low-caloric or non-caloric sweetener option may be seen as a service. To others it may seem like a conflict of interest. I have found a rather impartial resource in that regard. "It was Ralph Walton, M.D. doing research for 60 Minutes who showed the importance of “independent†scientific peer reviewed research in his report titled: “Survey of Aspartame Studies: Correlation of Outcome and Funding Sources: http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html 92% of independent research showed the problems aspartame causes and if you eliminate 6 studies the FDA had something to do with when they became influenced by aspartame manufactures and one pro-aspartame summary, 100% of ALL independent studies show the problems." "Never has the public been warned that it triggers birth defects, a catastrophe the eminent Dr. Louis Elsas warned Congress about. In fact the average consumer of aspartame is not aware that the European Food Safety Authority says that an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame is 40 milligrams/kilogram of body weight about the amount in a six pack of diet soda for a 10 year old boy. Nor do they know how to tell if that amount is being exceeded by intake of the more than 5000 food and drug products currently sweetened with aspartame" Recent studies show... Now...we're not talking about thousands of independent studies...but consistently, independent research shows that Aspartame is Toxic. Is toxic. Is. Unfortunately, nearly all of the research on Aspartame has been linked to the FDA - which through clear example set with Bovine Growth Hormone many years ago shows again the FDA's partiality to Monsanto. Are they out to get us? Who cares? Is there useful information here? Absolutely. Aspartame, Soy, Fluoride, Pasteurized Milk, Margarine & other toxic fats, cheap meat, nitrites, sulphites, high fructose corn syrup & other processed sugars... ...Then of course are beauty/hygiene products - bearing in mind that the body can absorb many chemicals more readily through the skin than through the gastrointestinal tract - As much as I miss the city, I'm so happy to not be on city water, as Fluoridated, Chlorinated water is not healthy to bathe/shower in... ...Not that they're necessarily parts of a plot against us but they are certainly prevalent and are poisons that many of us are in direct contact with on a daily basis, myself included. I like cream in my coffee, ice cream, milk on my cereal, cottage (and other) cheese(s), soya sauce, and reconstituted juices. I like Demarara (and other cane) sugar(s), Bisquick, packaged fried foods, and I'm not picky about my produce. I use toothpaste when I'm not cleaning my teeth with baking soda which goes in cycles. I eat many foods made from/with white flour. Do these things support a healthier life? no. I know enough to hold off eating these all the time and hope to remove myself from my poison-rich lifestyle as time goes on. To what - if not the many factors in our food, water, and air quality - can we attribute increasing cases of cancer, respiratory illness, neurological disorders, autoimmune disorders, and a range of illnessess and wellness concerns that plague industrialized countries? Aside from apathy/disbelief, of course. The petroleum and petrochemical industries play a huge part in poisoning our world - what I listed as poison touches the majority of North Americans. Factor in off gassing from our sofa, desk chair, carpet, laminate flooring, paint, plastic headphones, polyester shirt, draperies, refrigerator lining, plywood furniture, among others - and aspartame seems pretty weak. This deadly cocktail of chemicals is so vast and varied that we may never know the extend of the physiological repercussions of our greed and haste. To rule these factors out for consideration or concern is both unwise and reckless. sugar-free Chewing gum? Diet soda? Coated ibuprofen? Quick, mindless decisions of convenience. These things are not truly important. Sugary soft drinks and chewing gum aren't that much less unhealthy for us - but work in different ways on our bodies. Sometimes all this 'bad news' is overwhelming and we are numb to the warnings. At the end of the day we're still alive and dealing with all of the weight in our lives. Looking at it all as 'things to avoid' is a lot different than finding ways to support your and our well being. Be good to yourself. The choices you make will not only benefit you, but are bound to help other people. This isn't about 'sticking it to the man' or being terrified. It's about putting value on your life and the energy that you get from it and give back to it. We should have the right to choose what we put into our bodies. Mandated warning labels are the easiest and fairest compromise.

Terrence Trent Darby?

"Even if (911 conspiracy theories) were true, which is extremely unlikely, who cares? It doesn't have any significance. It's a little bit like the huge energy that's put out on trying to figure out who killed John F. Kennedy. Who knows? And who cares? Plenty of people get killed all the time, why does it matter that one of them happened to be John F. Kennedy? If there was some reason to believe that there was a high level conspiracy, it might be interesting. But the evidence against that is just overwhelming. And after that, if it happened to be a jealous husband, or the mafia, or someone else, what difference does it make? It's just taking energy away from serious issues onto ones that don't matter." N. Chomsky "It's the same with the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, all these other things the people are racing around searching for conspiracy theories about-they're "nothing" organizations. Of course they're there, obviously rich people get together and talk to each other, and play golf with one another, and plan together-that's not a big surprise. But these conspiracy theories people are putting their energies into have virtually nothing to do with the way the institutions actually function". N. Chomsky -Daniel L. Abrahamson

Huge thanks. I continue to adore your avatar, week after week.

I'm on song 2 if a refreshing genius playlist from an Ani DiFranco Song.. Thinking about heavy beats and getting folksy songs... The sky is grey, the sand is grey, and the ocean is grey. I feel right at home in this stunning monochrome, alone in my way. I smoke and I drink and every time I blink I have a tiny dream. But as bad as I am I'm proud of the fact that I'm worse than I seem. What kind of paradise am I looking for? I've got everything I want and still I want more. Maybe some tiny shiny thing will wash up on the shore. You walk through my walls like a ghost on TV You penetrate me and my little pink heart is on its little brown raft floating out to sea. And what can I say but I'm wired this way and you're wired to me And what can I do but wallow in you unintentionally? What kind of paradise am I looking for? I've got everything I want and still I want more. Maybe some tiny shiny key will wash up on the shore. Regretfully, I guess I've got three simple things to say. Why me? Why this now? Why this way? Overtone's ringing, undertow's pulling away under a sky that is grey on sand That is grey by an ocean that's grey. What kind of paradise am I looking for? I've got everything I want and still I want more

Noam Chomsky, Gatekeeper for the Left?

Sometimes your posts make me feel warm and fuzzy, and it's taken me this long to figure out what about it didn't sit well with me. Maybe the butter chicken lady was what did it for me, maybe the inclusion... ...but I don't think Parliament Hill is a good place for this culture market. Ottawa is a good choice for this kind of cultural celebration, but this kind of thing would be great in many cities. Any visibile celebration not restricted to a festival or event would keep any positive sentiment around for longer than a weekend. What could be far more powerful would be a far-reaching cultural celebration that aligns with the essence of the founding and initial struggle of this great nation, as unity between people is always stronger when there is unity and continuity between past and present. ...bearing in mind that Precluding religion from any celebration of life and would be like precluding Atheism and Agnosticism from a debate on freedom.

looks even bigger halfway down the hill with more stage and less sky What a great place to go for a big concert.

I'm glad that you folks add so much to my online experience. Makes investing fun.

[color:green]"The most harmful effect of conspiracy theories -- which, in my experience are often built on some small kernel of verifiable truth -- is that it pre-empts serious analysis and investigation of the really important issues by marginalizing those performing the analysis and making the questions themselves appear to be based on crazy, fringe propositions. They serve to distract from the real dynamics that more often than not underlie the plots cooked up by overheated imaginations. " There are a few points in the movie that I feel take away from its credibility...making the issue of sunspot cycles vs. fossil fuels in climate change for example would take steam out of the environmental movement while it's obvious that we're poisoning our planet with greenhouse gases, carcinogens, and countless poisins... [color:green]"But asking those questions puts one at risk of being lumped in with a fringe movement, and the result is that we're less likely to get at the truth about what happened that day because of the 9/11 Truth movement, not despite its tireless efforts (a conspiracy theory as good as any other is that the whole 9/11 "Truth" movement is a government operation designed to prevent serious questioning of what led up to the events of that infamous day)." these questions are important and to be fair, it shouldn't really matter to someone that really cares if someone lables them as 'fringe' [color:green]"There are also pseudoscientific claims about 9/11 that don't hold water. Just one example among many: 9/11 "truthers" often say that the World Trade Center towers couldn't possibly have collapsed as a result of the impact of those jets because the estimated temperatures of the fires that followed weren't hot enough to melt the steel framework of the building... ...As a critical thinker who isn't an expert in the fine points of metallurgy, it would be deeply irresponsible to take them as evidence of anything more than what Hoftstadter called "the paranoid style in American politics." "Another example is the North American Union -- which I wrote about here. If you're not familiar with the theory -- it's especially popular in far-right circles -- it holds that there is a "globalist plot" to combine the U.S., Canada and Mexico into one transnational super state and replace our own government with a regional power that presides over all of the citizens of the new union. It is, simply, hokum: a "plan" endorsed in an academic white paper (and later a book) and nothing more. But there is a very real, and very dangerous (from progressives' perspective), push toward much closer economic integration in North America, as well as a move toward a "security partnership" among the U.S., Canada and Mexico with equally disturbing ramifications." The SPP? Citizens of the countries in question never hear about on the mass media they depend on for their 'news'... So what DO you 'buy into', hamilton? I believe it is very important to look at these theories and ideas and then lay them over the Mass Media's explanation of the world's current events. I buy into the importance of the power of citizens and local community. the 'New World Order' theory ceases to be a theory when guys like Henry Kissinger and Barack Obama openly talk about it, use "Security and Prosperity' as normal verbiage, as well as the many other things explicitly stated, just as any good salesman or jedi knight would. For decades individuals' rights have been removed from citizens without notice from news media. [color:green]From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilateral_Agreement_on_Investment The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) was negotiated between members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) between 1995 and 1998. Its purpose was to develop multilateral rules that would ensure international investment was governed in a more systematic and uniform way between states. When the first draft was leaked to the public in 1997, it drew widespread criticism from civil society groups and developing countries, particularly over the possibility that the agreement would make it difficult to regulate foreign investors. After an intense global campaign was waged against the MAI by the treaty's critics, the host nation France announced in October 1998 that it would not support the agreement, effectively killing it due to the OECD's consensus procedures. This information had to be LEAKED to have any kind of impact, and even then there was almost no coverage on the news. NAFTA has stripped Canada of rights on resources (water) and has led to the privatization of our resources. There are a lot of 'conspiracy theories' that link back to the WTO and the World bank and many of these 'theories' are more of a reality than fiction. FEMA camps and prisons being built are no fiction. the North American Super Highway being started in Texas is no fiction. The narratives affixed to and that draw together the many facts that seem supressed when viewed en masse are what makes up the 'theory' side of conspiracy. Why reply to 'has anyone seen this movie' with 'why I don't buy into your conspiracy theories'? Seems awfully smug. ...not to offend you, hamilton, but that's a relatively self-satisfied response and doesn't really push along specific discussion about any of the content of the movie - and if you haven't seen the movie but are aware of the specific issues that Alex Jones advocates examination of, then that kind of response is entirely self-satisfied. I think that all too often, these issues are posed to the public together because that's the easiest way for their implications to sink in and be most understood. Unfortunately, many people are socialized to care about not being the wierdo with the tinfoil hat, and in that polarize themselves in the opposite direction. One important thing to understand is that 'this horrible thing is happening' and 'this horrible thing is happening to us' are very different... ...but on the flip side, 'this horrible thing' is still happening and will continue to while we're distracted with everything else that we're told is more important. Whether or not it's a 'conspiracy' has nothing to do with these opportunitstic changes occuring. The fact that matters to people more than the issues themselves on both sides of the fence is far more damaging to us in the long run than any implications that the Theorism would ever cause.

Skype it is and it's also cheap. Free if you're going computer to computer. Cheap if it's computer to phone.

It would've been better on the beach. thanks for the pickle.

It's essentially VOIP if I recall. Cheap Vonage. Never used it but have hard a lot about it. $40CDN is a steal. $20 annual fee. Nothing's FREE about the magic jack.

thanks - 'Yasso' - if I answer to it next time you see me then it's gonna stick.

Vibe bank of the Sanctuary has come through for me huge in the past and I feel as though I'm currently getting great value from its investments division. It's so convenient that I rarely notice when I'm making a deposit.

False or not? Sensational or not, Alex Jones' movies are a lot more important to watch than almost anything on the news. Vote for what you believe in any way you can. I don't agree with every sentiment in the movie but it is important to recognize the changes that have occurred and are being pushed through by elected and appointed officials.

Anyone going from Ottawa?

Didn't get drunk...but hopefully there'll be time to do that with some/all of you in the not too distant future.

aww.

Hux: what I got from d_jango's comment was that Dion was more PERSONALLY likable, not professionally. Dion seemed like a much nicer guy to me and I felt like he'd be a way fun next door neighbour. Iggy would probably try to one up me with a fancy potato salad or bison steaks at a potluck. Meat or secret salad ingredients are cheap shots when they're not from the heart.

Listen for yourself, Luke.

Cheers, \/\/illy. Hope you're enjoying the sun.

Thanks, Sean (and everyone else) It was great to get out for fireworks on Sunday, Chris. Here's hoping I'll be down that way again and again this summer (when it finally arrives) funny thing - For the past several months I've been looking around the internet for a certain cab for my bass rig. Nothing big...i almost feel bad calling it a rig...anyway, I wound up buying plans to build my own little cabinets and what happens? I get a message replying to an 'i see you have this thing I want...would you sell it' message from December, saying that he wants to. I wonder...what movie should i go see, and what will I want to eat for dinner...I'll tide that one over with leftover black beans and coconut rice. Thanks for the nudge folks.

you're awesome.