After Christmas activities

Christmas is over, but instead of relaxing, I spent the last two days looking for a lost receipt. I didn’t find it, but I did some much needed organizing in my office. It is amazing how much printed material I had stacked up, even in this day of ‘going paperless’. I threw away and shredded pages and pages of old files and needless stuff. Suddenly, I have so much room in my filing cabinet and things will be easier to find. In fact, one of my New Year’s resolutions will be not to print out everything under the sun and just create organized files in my computer. With 2 TB of memory on my hard drive there certainly is enough room.

Why do I print out so much? The thing is I still like to look at printed pages and it is easier to have information handy, especially when I’m writing. For every story I have to create characters, make outlines and have back stories for the main characters, which means I have to be able to look through the material as I’m writing the story. When I print out the information, all I need to do is flip through the pages. That is more difficult if I have to look it up on a file in my computer.

I’m slowly getting over my cold. It helps to stay home for a few days and to drink a lot of water, which means many trips to the bathroom during the day. We are not getting caught up in the Boxing day/week madness. No sense to buy something just because it is on sale, especially if you don’t really need it.

There isn’t much on TV right now, mostly reruns, so we’ve been watching some movies. I downloaded for free (OMG I committed a serious crime!) the movie ‘The Interview’, just to see what all the fuss is about. I think North Korea should be much more concerned with the quality of the movie instead of getting upset about the content. We only watched about ten minutes of it and then we stopped it. We could not take any more of it. There is no danger many people will see this movie. It is supposed to be a comedy. Sorry, that type of comedy escapes me. The movie is stupid, the acting poor, and I feel sorry for the people who paid to see it.

Instead of ‘The Interview’ we watched ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, a Science Fiction film with Tom Cruise. It was another ‘invasion of the Earth’ movie, but actually quite good. A few days ago we watched ‘Gone Girl’ with Ben Affleck. It started a bit slow but then it picked up and it was another movie we enjoyed.

My wife is a fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. One of his latest movies ‘Sabotage’ was okay. He plays a DEA agent and the movie ended with a bit of a twist. Not one of his best but still enjoyable, if you like Arnold.

A couple of weeks ago we started watching ‘Extant’. Also Science Fiction. It is about Androids and alien invaders. What a great series. We were watching 3 episodes an evening sometimes. It ended with episode 13 and now we are hooked. Hopefully, it comes back next year.

Right now, I’m looking for something to watch tonight. I have ‘Pacific Rim’, another invasion movie, on my computer. If I can persuade my wife we may watch it tonight. I’m a sucker for Science Fiction and easy to please. My wife is more selective. She’s not crazy about monsters, zombies, and huge mechanical robots. I’m afraid there are some on Pacific Rim. We’ll see.

Nothing is perfect

What a bummer! Today is Christmas Eve and I have a cold. It started yesterday with a burning sensation in the back of my throat. At first, I thought it was just because of the dry air in the house, but that was not the problem. I had to face it: I have a cold.

My wife and I are always careful when we go shopping or eating in a restaurant. We wash our hands and use disinfectant on our hands, and yet, you just can't escape these viruses. So many people are careless; they don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom; they cough and sneeze into the air without covering their mouths, and they touch everything. If somebody has a bad cold, they should stay home for at least a couple of days and not go into public places, but, of course, that is easier said than done. Not always possible.

So I spent my day yesterday  chewing cough candies to sooth my rough throat and drinking water until I busted. My bladder and kidneys had to work overtime. They probably wondered what was going on. Sometimes I neglect drinking water during the day. Last night I took a pill and I don't feel too bad today, except for that annoying cough. I took some cough syrup and  I hope I can keep the coughing under control. The kids are coming over to celebrate Christmas and I have to be in good shape, and I don't want to pass on this cold.

I  remember one Christmas. My grandson was about two years old. He had a cold, just a little one. There were pretzels in a bowl and he kept on taking some, but he didn't eat them. He licked off the salt and then he gave the pretzels to me. I ate them. After all, he is my grandson, right? So he had a cold, big deal. He was just a little guy; how many germs can he transmit? I found out the hard way. I never though it was possible to get a bad cold from a little kid. A few days after Christmas, just in time for New Year's Eve,  I came down with one of the worst colds anyone can get. I was as sick as a dog. The fault was totally mine not his. I should not have eaten those pretzels. He meant well, wanted to feed his Opa. Now the shoe is on the other foot; I'm the one with the cold and I have no intentions of infecting anyone else, especially not one of the grandchildren. I would feel terrible.

Anyway, I hope anyone reading this is healthy and stays that way. I'm getting ready to eat some ham and dumplings, with red cabbage. And drink a nice glass of wine.

Merry Christmas and Peace to all.

My Christmas present

Here is another picture of me and the buck I shot. If I were a hunter from more primitive times, I would say: "This is the Christmas present I received from the Gods of the Hunt." Since I am more civilized I have to say it's because of luck and my skills as a hunter.

Soon it will be #Christmas

Wow, how time flies. In 4 days it’s Christmas Eve. We still celebrate Christmas in our old European tradition...on the 24th of December, on the Eve of Christmas.

We’ve been busy shopping for presents for the kids and, mostly, for the grandchildren, and it’s been hectic. In a way I am always glad when Christmas finally arrives and we can take a bit of a breather. I think many people are, especially the ones who have to work in the stores.

Christmas is such an important season for the stores. They all hope to cash in on the buying frenzy. Everyone knows the only reason for all that buying is Christmas. Without Christmas we wouldn’t have all this hustle and bustle, but there are forces out there who want to ban the word Christmas. They are trying so hard to change it into Winter holiday, Winter fest, the Season, Winter concert, etc. Case in point is the Winter concert we went to last week at one of the Schools in Winnipeg. Unfortunately, most people seem to have forgotten what Christmas is really about.

However, there are still places where Christmas is acknowledged. We went to a Catholic School on Thursday to watch a Christmas play put on by the children. It was so refreshing to see that. Most of the time I was a little choked up when I saw the children playing their part with such enthusiasm and hear them singing Christmas songs. I have no idea why I felt like that. Perhaps I’m getting to be a silly, sentimental old fool.

Christmas is not just for Christians who celebrate the birth of Jesus; it is a time for reflection, for examining our beliefs, for giving and sharing, and to be grateful for what we have. It is a time to spend with our families, a time to teach our children to love and not to hate. I am grateful for my children. I love my grandchildren and there is no greater feeling in the world than hearing them say, “Opa, I love you.”

Children are so precious and it is difficult to understand how anyone would want to hurt them. 132 children murdered by religious fanatics in Afghanistan, 8 children stabbed to death by their mother/aunt. How can anything like that happen? What makes people commit such horrific acts? When I hear news like that I want to cry, because I think of my own children and grandchildren.

Are these people crazy? Is anyone who commits murder crazy? What about that Luka Magnotta who is on trial right now for murdering and cutting up another young man? The jury can’t come to a decision. Seems to me there are some bleeding hearts among them. Of course, people who commit heinous acts like murder are crazy. They are not normal. There is no question about that, but that does not give them a free license to commit murder. They need to be punished, not pitied. They need to be put in jail for the rest of their natural lives or, preferably, executed. They have no place in our society and need to be removed from it. They are crazy and can never be rehabilitated and they are a danger to society. Putting them into a mental institution is not going to help. You cannot rehabilitate a psychopath. That is my opinion.

Well, enough of this. I hope I’ll find the time to post more before Christmas. Only good stuff, though. In case I don’t, I wish everyone

#Merry Christmas, joy and love, and, most of all, Peace.

A Concert for #Christmas

Christmas is near, and at this of time of year the Schools put on Christmas concerts. At least they used to do that. Times are changing.

A couple of days ago we went to the School concert of our grandson. The concert was actually in a church. Quite appropriate for a Christmas concert, except this concert had nothing to do with Christmas. In fact, they called it a ‘Winter Concert’.

We were disappointed, because we expected Christmas carols and songs. The kids all performed well, singing and playing instruments, but the only Christmas song was toward the end, and it was ‘Joy to the World.’ For all I cared by then they needn’t have bothered.

They played and sang different songs; one was some kind of ‘Zulu’ spiritual song. There were drums. Nothing to do with winter.

I looked around the audience and saw mainly Caucasian people. The School is in an area of the city with few ethnic groups. So why would they not have a Christmas Concert? Just to appease the few people from other cultures?

It has come so far already, that the word 'Christmas' is avoided by some people, like a bad word. Now they call it 'Winter Holiday' or whatever. Instead of saying "Merry Christmas," they say "Have a Happy Holiday."  No more 'Christmas Party'. Now it's 'Company party' or 'Yearend party', or something similar, as long as the word 'Christmas' isn't in it. A shame. Christmas is the reason they are making a party in the first place.

We Canadians are so worried about offending minorities that we are willing to change our way of life and get rid of old customs and tradition. It is sad and disturbing. I am not a bigot or a racist, but I believe that immigrants who come into our country should honor our traditions, our way of life, our customs, and not expect that we change for them.

A few years ago, one of the Schools in a different neighborhood of the city was also going to eliminate the Christmas Concert. Instead, it was going to be African Drums. Fortunately, there was such uproar all across the city that they abandoned that idea and actually did have a Christmas Concert.

I can see the day in the future when there will be no more Christmas concerts or anything else that has to do with Christianity. Our laws will have changed to appease all the different ethnic groups that are slowly taking over our country, because we let them. Already now, we have laws in place that make it a criminal offense to talk and write negatively about certain ethnic groups. My prediction is it will get worse. We still have freedom of speech, but for how long? We will be muzzled when we speak our mind.

All one has to do is look around on the street, in shopping centers, in stores, in playgrounds, parks etc. to see how things have changed. People walk around in their outlandish native garb, men wearing gowns and strange head coverings, women covered up to their eyes, and they openly speak their language in public. When I am downtown Winnipeg I wonder sometimes if I was transported magically to a foreign country.

I’m an immigrant, but when I came to Canada, my priority was to learn to speak English, to dress like the Canadians and to learn the local customs and to blend in—to become a real Canadian. As did all the other immigrants who came mostly from European countries. I remember one time when I was in an elevator with a few other people. They were Italians and when some of them spoke in Italian, one of the older women said, “English! Speak English.” She had an accent, but that was okay. They made an effort.

I’m not saying people should forget about their heritage, but it should be done in private clubs or in one of their churches.

When I became a Canadian Citizen, it was a solemn affair. Now, apparently, new Canadians dance around and shout, probably in their native language. I heard that they get all kinds of free stuff, like expensive tickets to events. I never got any of that when I became a Canadian. Now we just give and give. The new immigrants expect it and take if for granted.

Apparently, we need more immigrants to boost the economy. The theory is that more people in a country bring in more taxes. That’s fine, as long as they all pay taxes and don’t become a burden to the taxpayers already in the country and as long as they don’t try to change our way of life; the way of life that I adopted so many years ago and find good. I don’t want it changed. We are living in a great country and I would like to keep it great.

We should not try to please minorities but make sure the majority of the Canadian people are happy. The people who have built up this country and made it what it is today; the people whose ancestors fought for our way of life; the Canada that seems to attract people from other countries because it is what it is. So why do these same people want to change our way of life once they are here? I can’t understand that.

When I was a newcomer, there were many things I didn’t like either, always comparing with the way things were in the old country. Every immigrant did that. It is natural. When somebody complained and criticized, we were told, “If you don’t like it here go back to where you come from!”

I’d like to pass that on to anyone who doesn’t like the Canadian Way, anyone who wants to change our customs, our traditions, and our laws.

If you don’t like it go back to where you came from and let us enjoy the way we do things here! I’m a Canadian and grateful to be able to live in this great country.

What is the attraction?

On my last hunting trip, while sitting on a log on a cold November day, waiting for a buck to make an appearance, this question popped into my mind: What is the attraction of driving a camper into the wilderness, parking it in the middle of the bush, and then walking down a narrow trail, carrying a backpack and a heavy rifle? Or sitting in a stand or on a moss-covered log, shivering, and waiting for hours or days for an animal to come by so you can shoot it?

You wear the same outfit for a week, maybe even the same underwear and socks. You don’t brush your teeth, don’t comb your hair, and barely wash, because water is at a premium, especially when the temperature is below zero.

The toilet is a log nailed against two trees in the bush, and when the north wind blows you spend as little time as possible sitting on that log.

At home, when your wife asks you to go for a walk with her, you tell her you’re too tired, but during this week you walk for miles without complaining. You shiver because it is freezing cold; you freeze your toes after they get wet inside your insulated boots from all that walking; your fingers are icicles even inside your gloves and stiff from holding your rifle. Why are you doing that to yourself? What did you do to deserve this punishment?

Some women also love it. Not my wife. “You go out there and have fun,” she says, “but when you come home, don’t complain about the hardship you had to endure. It will fall on deaf ears. Nobody forces you to go. They sell meat in the stores, you know. No sane woman would do what you crazy men do. Always have to be macho and prove something. I’m staying in our warm and comfortable home. I don’t have to cook much when you’re not around. I can get my Christmas baking done with you out of my hair. I might even do some relaxed shopping, alone, without listening to you whining about the waste of your valuable time. And don’t come back early and spoil my plans.”

A hunter will tell you that it is the greatest thrill stalking big game or just a grouse or rabbit. He will also tell you that after a day of either sweating or freezing, coming home to a warm camper, dead tired, is the best feeling in the world. In the evening, you barbeque a steak or eat chilli, drink beer and play cards with you hunting buddies. You brag about the big bucks you’ve shot over the years. All your buddies know you’re the big hunter who never misses, because that’s what you tell them. You have a valid excuse for the ones you did miss. Your buddies tell the same tales. You’ve heard them all before and they get taller with every year, but that’s okay, because so are yours. There is no wife or girlfriend around to give you orders, and you don’t worry about work, or doing chores around the house. What could be better than that?

You don’t care which country dropped bombs on another country, how many politicians got caught with their hands in the taxpayer’s till, which movie stars got married or divorced. You don’t even care if the price of oil has risen or dropped, depending on the whims of the oil companies.

The only thing you worry about is getting that deer or whatever game you are after. In the morning, you get up earlier than you would ever think about getting up at home, just to be at your favourite spot before dawn. One hunter told me after coming back to camp, exhausted, his wet feet making squishing sounds in his insulated boots as he walked, “I don’t know why I do this every year, but I just can’t live without it.” I knew what he meant.

You would never dream about doing any of that without complaining if it were your job, but here you are, of your own free will, telling yourself and everyone you talk to that you enjoy it.

Are you really? Am I?

I always enjoyed camping, even as a kid. I used to chase rabbits with a slingshot, even though I never hit one. I love hunting. Maybe it’s in the genes, programmed into a man’s DNA, left over from when primitive men had to go out with spears, rocks, and clubs to bring home supper. I don’t know.

Now we sleep in a warm trailer; we even have a generator to give us electricity. However, I remember hunts when I slept in a tent without heat, stuffed like a sausage into my sleeping bag wearing all my clothes, even my parka, unable to move. Shivering inside my cocoon, concentrating on my frozen feet, listening to the wind and the coyotes howling outside, I asked myself what I was doing here. Would I survive the night or would they find my frozen body in the Spring after the snow was gone? Things like that pop into your mind when you can’t fall asleep, when you wonder if you will have left the land of the living after the night is over. Should you, by some miracle, still be alive you know you’ll be dead-tired the next day when you have to stomp through two feet of snow for nearly a mile to get to your spot.

And that all for a chance to shoot a deer.

 So I’m asking again: What is the attraction?

#Escape Plan

Last night we watched the movie Escape Plan, starring #Sylvester Stallone and #Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Sylvester Stallone’s character is the owner of a Security company and he specializes in escaping from high security prisons.

I’m not going to go into details about the movie, because I don’t want to give away anything about the plot. All I’m going to say is that I was pleasantly surprised at the direction the movie took.

Arnold Schwarzenegger looked cool with his beard and he played his role well. I don’t think he is a great actor, but he has a certain charisma about him and I like him. He is one of my wife’s favorite actors. We’ve seen all of his movies (except his first one where he played #Hercules under the name of #Arnold Strong. They dubbed his voice in that movie).

My wife doesn’t care much for Sylvester Stallone, but she admitted she liked him in this movie. She could even understand him when he was talking. I always liked him. We’ve seen most of his movies, but only a couple of his Rocky movies.

The other actors were #Jim Caviezel. We know him from the TV series Person of Interest where he plays John Reese. We’ve been watching that series from the beginning, but lately we are getting a little disappointed with it and we are debating if we should continue watching it. It turned into another regular Cop show.

Another actor worth noting was #Vincent D’Onofrio. We used to watch #Law and Order: Criminal Intent, where he played Detective Robert Goren. He pretty much acted the same way he did in that TV series.

#Escape Plan was a good Action movie and we enjoyed it. Not too many twists and subplots, which made us older fogies enjoy it even more. Some of the TV shows we watch get sometimes too complicated and we lose interest after a while. They are great for putting us to sleep, though.

Anyone enjoying a nice, basic Action movie will enjoy Escape Plan, providing they don’t mind a bit of violence and like Arnold and Sylvester. We do. Both actors are getting old, like all of us, but they are keeping their bodies in good shape and they are looking great.

I’m looking forward to Arnold’s next #Conan movie, where he plays an aging King Conan. I’ve been a fan of Conan ever since I read the first short story by Robert E. Howard, when the Character of Conan, the Barbarian was still unknown to most people. I was ecstatic when I saw the movie featuring a young Arnold Schwarzenegger as Conan and I immediately became Arnold’s fan. I loved all his characters in his other movies and it was too bad he wasted his time as the governor of California. He could have made many great movies during that time. Now his movies may never again be the box office hits they used to be. Fans are fickle and they forget quickly. New actors appear and the fans move on. That is life.

So, if you are dying of boredom and need a little bit of action to get you excited, watch Escape Plan. I recommend it. However, if you're too old and have to watch your pulse rate, or if you watch only romance shows with no action and nothing but endless talking, don't waste your time.

Whatever you decide to do, have a wonderful day. Enjoy every moment and don't waste a minute doing stuff that makes you angry or sad. Wasted time can never be recovered. It is lost forever.

See you next time.