#Annoying Music and annoying trends

I hope this is not going to be the newest trend. I’m talking about the background music in movies and TV shows. Background means it is supposed to be in the background, as the word says, barely noticeable.

Last night we watched the last episode of #‘Blindspot’, one of the shows on our list. Usually, we enjoy it, but this time it was not enjoyable at all. The ‘background’ music was so loud I found it almost impossible to hear the characters talking. There was also so much loud drumming. I don't care much for drumming at the best of times.

And this wasn’t the first show I found with such loud ‘background’ music.

My hearing isn’t as good as it used to be, so I blamed it on my hearing. However, when my wife complained about the loud music, I knew it wasn’t just me.

I remember the old movies where they had no music at all. (No, I’m not talking about Silent Movies. I’m not that old!!).

I realize that music adds to the mood and can make the difference between making a movie boring or tense, but loud music is annoying and distracting, especially when it is louder than the character's voices. Another thing I find I have problems understanding the dialog between characters. Again I blamed my hearing and I don’t doubt that it does contribute to that problem. The strange thing is that I don’t have that problem with old movies. I understand every word spoken. Incidentally, the same goes for modern music. I don't understand the words. I don't have trouble understanding the lyrics of the songs from the seventies or eighties.

The only explanation I have is that actors and singers these days do not pronounce their words properly. They act too ‘naturally’. When we watched the new version of #'True Grit' starring Jeff Bridges I didn’t understand anything he said (and neither did my wife who has good hearing). He mumbled and slurred his words so badly it was no pleasure to watch that movie. The old version with John Wayne was much more enjoyable.

I wish there were a way to control the level of the background music.

Another trend that fortunately did not make it was filming movies with a handheld camera. The 'Blair Witch Project' comes to mind. Apparently, moviegoers got dizzy watching it. We watched only part of it on a small screen and found it boring.

‘Behind Enemy Lines’ was one movie that used that technique. Again—not enjoyable. I’m sure glad that practice died before it went ballistic.

I think I’ll get myself a hearing aid. Perhaps that will eliminate some of my problems. My wife is getting tired of my constant question, “What did they say?”

#Polymer Clay

I've always loved drawing pictures as a kid and later on as a teenager. I even took a mail order course how to learn to draw and paint which I never finished and I never got into oils. Water colors and crayons, but mostly pencil and I was quite good at it. When I was in School I made a Gorilla out of clay and my teacher liked it. It was displayed in one of the display cases. Unfortunately, I never got to take it with me when I left School. Where am I going with this? Well, I've always wanted to work with modelling clay. A while ago I read about Polymer Clay and I was intrigued. You can burn it in the oven at around 260 F and it gets hard.

That stuff is not cheap, but I ordered some from China. I got 32 different colored bars for about 9.00 US dollars, including shipping. I figured I could give it a try. If it didn't  turn out not much money was lost. It took two months until I got it. Remember, it comes directly from China.

The bars are small and of different colors and you are limited with what you can make with them. I don't know if all Polymer clay is like the stuff I got. It is quite soft and pliable, but it is not easy to form any small details because it is so soft. If you lay it down on a surface that part gets flat while you are working molding the upper part. When you turn it around the part you've molded looses its shape.

Anyway, I managed to make a small model of a mermaid and one of the face of an elf. This morning I put it into the oven and baked it at 260 F for 20 minutes. (My wife was not home. She may not be too excited with my new hobby). It didn't turn out too badly but nothing like the beautiful tiny statues I've seen on Pintrest. I guess I need much more practice to produce something really nice. It is a start and I like to share it with you, but, please, don't laugh. Okay, laugh, if you want to. I won't know. By the way, the figures are about 1 inch tall. It is difficult to mold a tiny face like that of the mermaid because the clay is so soft. Also remember, this is my first try.

#Easter

Have a Great Day

Laments of a grumpy old man

 I know…I know. I’ve written about this many times, but it still bugs me.

When I sat in the mall this morning waiting for my wife to come out of a clothing store, I was watching the people walk by to pass the time.

What is wrong with people? I’m talking about the women (and the odd guy) who wear those ripped jeans. In fact, the other day when we went shopping, I saw ripped jeans for sale in a display window. There was nothing there but strings of fabric in the front of both legs. My wife saw me looking and said, “Don’t even comment.” I knew better than to make a comment, but I filed it away for another day.

I have one question: Who in their right mind pays good money (and they are not cheap) for something that can only be used to mop up a floor and then thrown into the garbage can? I don’t get it.

Actually, I saw a girl wearing a pair of shorts with a hole large enough so I could see her pussy. That’s not what bothered me, after all I’m a guy and not prudish at all. I wasn’t staring but I didn’t look away, either. What bothered me was the condition of her jean shorts that made me raise my eyebrows.

The clothes make the man (or woman). It is an old saying. What do ripped jeans say about a person?

I guess I’m just an old fart who believes in the old values. They seem to have gone out of the window. Gone the way of the Do-Do-Bird. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I grew up in Europe and people in those days were dressed in clean and nice clothing. We used to wear suits and ties when we went out, even to the movies. A tiny rip in a pair of pants or a shirt was fixed immediately. People took pride in dressing nicely. Same goes for haircuts or facial hair. We polished our shoes when we went out. We didn't wear work boots when we went dancing.

What else bothers me? Well, here is a short list:

*Men wearing jewelry in their ears, especially those large wooden plugs that stretch the earlobes.

*Men and women covered with tattoos (It seems to be an epidemic).

*Those stupid haircuts where they shave the side of one or both sides of their head and leave only a small carpet of hair on top of the head.

*Girls with a man’s haircut

*Guys wearing their baseball hats with the shield either in the back or to one side, which looks even stupider.

*Guys wearing a hoody inside a mall or restaurant

*Fat women or men in tights or wearing those sweatpants. I have no problem with the condition of their bodies; fat, skinny, it doesn’t matter, but, for heaven’s sake, wear appropriate clothing—anything but body-clinging.

*Old ladies rummaging in their huge handbags for the exact change when I am in a hurry and standing behind them in the line at the checkout counter.

*People having a stack of lottery tickets checked by the clerk to find out if they won something and then not being able to make up their mind which lottery tickets they should buy.
*Lazy shoppers who leave their shopping carts in the middle of the parking lot when the sign 'Return shopping carts here' is only 20 feet away.

*People waving their hands in the air above their heads when at a concert.

*People singing along at a concert. I paid money to listen to the performers not the audience.

*Women dressed from head to toe in robes and their heads and faces covered with only their eyes showing--here in Canada. There could even be a man hiding under those clothes.

*People holding their cell-phone in their hand when they are at a function, like a movie theatre, and constantly checking for messages. What are they waiting for? A message from the Prime Minister or the Pope? That light from their phone is annoying as Hell.

*People walking around with their cell-phone in their hand or laying it on the table while having dinner. Nobody and nothing is that important, unless they are on call, like a doctor or fireman.

*People yapping on their cell-phone at the table beside me in a restaurant.

I know that the cell-phone is another epidemic that has gripped the people everywhere. It is like a drug they are addicted to. I hate it when I’m having a private conversation with someone and they constantly keep checking their phone or even answering it while we are talking. I’ve had that happen to me many times, and most of the time the person doesn’t even say, “Excuse me, but I have to answer this.” They just turn away. To me that is rude. It tells me that talking with me is not as important as the person who may or may not call them.

One can only hope that all this is just a phase that will smooth itself out in time. Perhaps some day people will take pride again in what they wear, how they look and how they behave.

Yeah, I’m just a grumpy old man now, complaining about everything. I blame the old bugger in the mirror, unshaven and his hair not combed when I see him in the morning, still in his pajamas. It’s his fault. Who is he anyway? What happened to the handsome young man I used to see when I looked in the mirror. He was always smiling and always in a good mood.

Where is he?

I have a bad feeling he is gone—forever.

#The 2016 Federal Budget

No good news today again and no funny stuff, either. Sorry.

I guess all the non-ambitious people, the ones who contribute nothing to the tax-fund, the families with a stall full of children, and the unmarried women with a bunch of children should be happy today that they voted for the Liberals. It seems Prime Minister Trudeau and his Liberals are determined to plunge this country deep into debt and give away money we don’t have in addition to the taxes the hardworking taxpayers are forced to contribute to the government coffers. The way they are borrowing and spending money our grandchildren and their children won’t be able to pay off the huge debt load.

6,500 Dollars for each child under six and over 5,000.00 Dollars for each child between six and seventeen. It seems not practicing birth control pays off. It also gives girls and single women an incentive to get themselves knocked up. No worries—the government will take good care of them and all their children. The refugees with their large bunch of children will also be benefiting from this.

Nothing in the budget for the hardworking men and women who pay the taxes; nothing for people who save for their old age, and nothing for the small business people who create jobs. Capital gains will be taxed higher, donations are not tax deductible any longer, and there are many other little things to take away the incentive for ambitious people to work hard and save. No help for pensioners, either.

The indigenous people are getting billions of Dollars, but they are not happy. According to their chiefs it is a good beginning. How much money do they want and when will they be happy? When the country is broke because the taxpayers have finally been sucked dry and give up?

There is one positive thing, though. The money that is given to the natives to improve their standard of living will actually create jobs. They will need construction materials and trades people will have to erect the houses. Hopefully, they will also employ young natives and teach them the trades so they can fix things themselves when they break down instead of waiting for the government to come and fix holes in the doors and walls that somehow mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. We’ve live in our house for over 20 years now and we have no holes anywhere. Of course, we’ve repainted some of the walls just to make them fresh looking.

One question pops up: Are the natives getting these houses for nothing? What I mean don’t they have to pay for them like other Canadians who buy a house, take out a mortgage and pay for that house for the next 25 years or so with money they earn from working on a regular job? Just wondering.

The Conservatives were right when they said, “He isn’t ready.”  I don’t think the Liberals know what they are doing. I still can't believe they ended up as the government with such a majority and I also think they did not expect to win at all. That's why they were not ready to run a country. This budget proves it. I can only hope that the people in our province of Manitoba learn from that when they vote in the upcoming election. Our Provincial Liberals have no agenda, but they tell us to ‘Believe’. 

I believe. I believe that they will screw up as badly as their Federal counterparts.

I have no idea who to vote for. None of the parties have anything to offer me.

Perhaps tomorrow I have more positive stuff to write. One can only hope.

#Brussels

I was going to post something funny again today, but today I'm not in a funny mood. Another terrorist attack in Brussels with over 30 dead and over 100 injured. More might die. Is it ever going to stop? What the hell is wrong with these Muslim terrorists? And let's not play around with words and try to be politically correct. These terrorists are Muslims, even though Muslims are claiming their religion is peaceful. I see no evidence of that.

Of course, we can't put them all in one pot. I'm sure there are a lot of Muslims who want to live in peace, but their religion as it stands does not allow that. How can they if they are taught that all infidels have to be killed? Infidel means anyone who does not believe in Allah. That does not sound peaceful to me. Nor does it sound tolerant.

To live in peace we need to be tolerant of each other, no matter what we believe or not believe. We need to be tolerant of others. We need to show compassion for each other, but that is difficult to do if the others want to kill us. Then we need to defend ourselves.

Jesus said if somebody slaps you on the cheek to offer him the other cheek. Well, I am a Christian, but if somebody slaps me on my cheek I will hit back. To let myself be hit again would be stupid.

What I'm saying is that we can't pussyfoot any longer and try to be politically correct and nice. Our illustrious Prime Minister in his incredible wisdom wants to reinstate the Canadian Citizenship to the criminals who lost it. There is one terrorist in jail, I don't remember his name, who is about to be released. And Mr. Trudeau wants to give him back his citizenship. According to him 'A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian'.

It's been a long time since I heard such bullshit. For me a 'Terrorist is a Terrorist is a Terrorist'. He has no place in my country.

This is what I would do if I were in a position of power: Anyone convicted of #terrorism will be sent to jail for a long time with no chance of parole; his immediate family and all his relations will be shipped back to where they came from---innocent or not. If they are Canadians they will be stripped of their citizenship, especially if they have a Dual Citizenship. All of their possessions will be confiscated. They should have prevented the terrorist from ever becoming one by teaching him or her that they have been given a chance to live in peace in our country. To live in peace and in freedom for the rest of their lives. They forfeited that privilege when they allowed one of their own to become a terrorist.

By the way, the lawyers that defended these terrorists should also be made to accompany them on their way back home, even if they are not Muslims.

Sounds radical? Yes, it is radical, but the time to be nice is over. If we don't take a stand now it may soon be late. I can only hope that all the Do-Gooders will be the ones to suffer first.

I mentioned #Dual Citizenship. There should be no such thing. Either you are a Canadian or you are not. If you can't make up your mind then go back to your old country. And for the sake of all of us and the future of our children STOP BRINGING MORE REFUGEES INTO CANADA!

I am curious to see, along with many other people who are concerned, what is going to happen in Brussels, or in the rest of Belgium. The Muslims have a stronghold in that country and if no steps are taken it will end up to be a Muslim State. That will not be a very good thing for Europe and the rest of the world.

Sorry about all this ranting and negative mood, but sometimes we have to pull our heads out of the sand and open our eyes and look at the world around us. What we see is not always pretty. Today the world has become a little bit uglier. Perhaps tomorrow the sun will shine again and we will see the beauty that still exists somewhere.

Easter is coming. The catkins on the pussy willows are almost ready to be picked.

Why...why...why...?

Lately I've been digging around in my archives and found a few funny things that just can't stay hidden. Here is one of them:

Hello -- I have questions!

Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety-one?

If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one out of five enjoys it?

Why do croutons come in airtight packages?

Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?

If people from Poland are called Poles, then why aren't people from Holland called Holes?

If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a racecar is not called a racist?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, then doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

Do Lipton Tea employees take 'coffee breaks?'

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?

 Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them while they deliver the mail?

Is it true that you never really learn to swear until you learn to drive?

Whatever happened to Preparations A through G ?

 

 ******

Why, Why, Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Why do banks charge a fee due to insufficient funds; when they already know you're broke?

Why is it that when someone tells you that there are one billion stars in the universe you believe them, but if they tell you there is wet paint you have to touch it to check?

Why do they use sterilized needles for lethal injections?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why did Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose cruel idea was it to put an "s" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that, no matter what color bubble bath you use, the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people run over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it and then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will ever open from the first end you try?

How do those dead bugs get into the enclosed light fixtures?

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

Why, in winter, do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

Is Winter over?

Wow! Amazing how much can happen in one week. We just came home from a one week holiday in Santa Maria, Cuba. We left Sunday, March 6. The day before we left, March 5, I had to blow the snow from my driveway with the snow blower. We had two feet of snow in some places in our backyard. And it was cold. When we landed in Winnipeg yesterday, there was fog everywhere and driving home was a nightmare. I could barely see the road in front of the car.

Arriving at home there were more surprises. The driveway was empty of snow; most of the snow in the yard had melted and the ditches were full of water. Also, there were huge areas of our backyard underwater.

When I checked this morning, I saw catkins on the pussywillows. They are still small, but another week or so with temperatures like today (plus 14 Celsius) they will be big enough to be picked and we’ll have fresh ones for Easter.

Today I saw quite a few flocks of Canada Geese flying and in the fields.  The first ones I’ve seen this year. What happened to Winter? We were only gone for one week.

One negative side of this warm weather is that the streets are dirty. We washed our car before we went on holiday and now it is covered with a white/gray film. I would have liked to leave it in the garage, but our fridge was empty and we had to go shopping for food.

Of course, this weather is not going to last. I’ve lived in Manitoba long enough to know this. I remember when we had a huge snowstorm in April, long after the last bit of snow had melted. In fact, I had removed my winter tires already. Anything can happen in the next month or so. March came in as a whimpering lion and we might get a snowstorm at the end of the month. The all-knowing weather people predicted colder temperature for this Wednesday and up to 5 cm of snow.

We will not relax and I will keep my snow blower ready.