That goose was cooking in the sun today in Port Credit when I happened to catch him in a narcissistic (or introspective) moment.
The Weekend
Sunday was one of those days that was typically cool of my job!
Woke up bright and early at 8 in the morning, after shooting the End Poverty concert the night before, to capture some photos of people planting trees! I wanted to try to plant one myself, but they worked so well that they were done before I knew it.
I was then called to take over a co-worker’s job of shooting the Khalsa Day Parade in Malton. It was cool to see a bit of the Sikh culture and it was definitely a very colourful affair.
This was also my first opportunity to witness my first Lacrosse game ever! I had never been to a live game, nor have I watched it on TV and come to think of it, never really seen pictures of it either. I used my “hockey shooting strategy” to try to get some lacrosse pictures. Turned out ok, but the bad lighting in the arena didn’t help. It’ll be fun to shoot more lacrosse though!
Then the best way to end the day, especially after a lacrosse shoot, was to shoot … tap dancing! Another too-dark-to-take-pictures scenerio, but it was well performed and I totally enjoyed their performance. TAPercussion definitely entertained the Living Arts Centre audience!
True Canon Rebel
I claimed my 30D today from the Canon service centre. Shooting without it the past 10 days was like walking around without pants .. half naked.
When I walked into the Canon store, everyone was giving me weird looks (and no, I was not lacking pants). The lady behind the counter looked up, and was hesitant to serve me. As I approached the desk, she barely gave me solid eye contact, instead looking at me with quick glances.
A man on the other side then walked over and said
“I’ll take care of this.”
He walked over, asked me for my name, and typed it into the computer. All this while, he kept looking at me weirdly. His glance, similiar to the other lady’s, kept shifting from me to computer screen.
Finally he said
“Nikon eh?”
At that moment, I realized what the big issue was about. I had forgotten and walked into the Canon service centre with my press pass still prominently dangling around my neck.
My press pass is on a bright yellow “you can’t miss it” Nikon lanyard. They must have thought I was trying to make some kinda statement.
The same two individuals had seen me there at least twice in the past month. Ten days ago, when I was last at the centre, I politely made no attempt to hide my displeasure that my battery grip had died, and the day the centre called to inform me that my grip was fixed, my 30D had the infamous error 99 and had to be dropped off. On top of that, I was incensed that my 580ex II did not sit properly on my Mark IIn. They said it was a problem with the gasket (but stressed that it was not an issue when I asked if it was a known issue). They offered to adjust it, but made no gurantee that it will sit well on my 30D, or a Mark III if I were to purchase one.
In any case, I said I’d switch to a Canon lanyard if they provided me with one. I vaguely recall hearing the lady mention that the lanyards were available “in the box over there”. They forgot to deliver. I forgot to ask again on my way out. I guess I will continue to shoot with Canons while sporting my bright yellow Nikon lanyard. :P
St. Malachy Prophecies & US Foreign Policy
Often I wonder if the people on this planet are either blind, out to tempt fate, or believe that we are masters of our own destiny. Those three things infer that we have free will. Perhaps, a fourth and more plausible explanation, is that our universe is deterministic. That is, whatever happens is going to happen regardless.
Let us begin by examining St. Malachy’s Prophecies.
When I think prophecy, I simply think it is what someone could have made up, and not necessarily something I have to follow. If the prediction is less than ideal, perhaps I will take steps to avoid the path leading to that outcome.
St. Malachy’s Prophecies paint a fairly bleak immediate future after Pope John Paul II. One that will see World War III coming right after Pope Benedict XVI’s short reign, or even towards the end of his reign. So, by picking Benedict as his papal name, was Cardinal Ratzinger purposely walking towards World War III? Is he tempting fate? Surely he could not be unaware of St. Malachy’s Prophecy.
By choosing a name in accordance with that Prophecy, he is leading the world towards World War III. Perhaps he has a strong belief in humankind’s goodness and that we will avoid this war purely on our own free will (thus tempting fate). Perhaps again, this universe is deterministic and he had no ability to chose any other papal name than Benedict XVI.
St. Malachy’s Prophecies talk about the following:
The Church will experience an event that will begin to transfigure the Church to greater holiness. Pope Benedict XVI will be Pope at that time. Very soon after that event, Pope Benedict XVI will suggest to the world that three booths, that is, three places, be built in Jerusalem: a Temple, a Church, and a Mosque. He will suggest that the city of Jerusalem become a place of peace and of worship for all three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Luke’s Gospel adds a comment about Peter’s suggestion: “not knowing what he said†(Luke 9:33). This suggestion of Pope Benedict XVI will not take place, at least not anytime in the near future. Instead of peace, war will break out. First a small war will occur among the Arab nations (A.D. 2009). Then, a great war will begin between the Arab nations and the western nations (A.D. 2010).
Now I am not sure if he has proposed the idea of the division of Jerusalem yet, or if he will in the future but he very nearly did set off his own political explosion with this controversy as well as his comments almost a year after the first controvesy.
Yet, the Pope is not the only person tempting fate and driving us closer to the World War III predicted by St. Malachy.
During the war of the Arabs against Europe (World War III), the Arab forces will attack Italy and Rome. At that time, in the year 2012, the Pope will be forced to flee the Vatican. He will have waited too long to flee successfully. He will carry his own baggage on his shoulder. He will flee “by the way of the gate between the two walls†of the Vatican by night accompanied by members of the clergy (“the sons of Zedekiahâ€) and guarded by soldiers. They are able to get away from Vatican City, but they will not reach safety. They will be pursued by Arab forces.
The Pope and the clergy with him will be taken captive by the Arab forces. They will be taken to Syria (Riblah is an ancient city in Syria) and put on trial. The leader of Iraq (“king of Babylonâ€) will pass judgment against the Pope and the clergy who were captured with him and also some members of the clergy of Syria. They will slaughter these members of the clergy as the Pope watches. Next, they will put out the eyes of the Pope, so that the last thing he sees is the death of his fellow clergy. Then they will bind the Pope in fetters and take him to Iraq, where he will be imprisoned. The phrase “yet he shall not see it†means that he will be held prisoner without being able to see the country in which he is held captive because he has been blinded. The Pope will die in a prison in Iraq with no one to rescue him. This Pope, Peter the Roman, will die a martyr for the Faith. (What an unusual time we live in, when Sacred Scripture itself tells us about one Pope after another.)
Who else is edging us towards the prophecy? How about the United States of America?
Surely they cannot be unaware of the prophecy either. Perhaps it was this prophecy in part that inspired the attack and occupation of Iraq. Afterall, in some references to Nostradamus’ prophecies, the anti-christ by the name of “mabus” could be “sudam”in a mirror and close enough to Saddam.
Yet, through the occupation of Iraq, they have angered more of the Muslim world. Even more interestingly, they have taken it upon themselves to arm the Iraqi army with modern equipment, and even more importantly, military tactics.
Today, I saw this article on DefenseTech about the possible sale of F-35 Lightning II aircraft to Saudi Arabia. In it, they bring up an interesting point:
Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., has expressed concern over US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, noting that the Kingdom “has not been a true ally in furthering the United States interests in the Middle East,†and noted that “about 40 percent of all foreign fighters [in Iraq] are Saudi.â€
Now any leader can be overthrown quite easily, and all that military technology will then fall into the hands of the enemy. In fact, sales to the Arab nations is promoting an arms race which could lead into the above mentioned war between the Arab nations.
In addition, Israeli defense officials have requested two new advanced JDAM models (laser-guided and immune to jamming) to offset the standard JDAM smart-bomb kits sold to Saudi Arabia that converts existing 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound unguided free-fall bombs into accurately guided “smart” weapons.
In fact, according to the New York Times,
In general, the United States is interested in upgrading the countries’ air and missile defense systems, improving their navies and making modest improvements in their air forces, administration officials said, though not all the packages would be the same.
What do air and missle defense systems, navies and air forces have to do with helping those allies to combat the primary problem which is terrorism? Unless the mainstream media has been lying, the terrorists’ main weapons happen to be IEDs and suicide bombers. Bombing by the allies almost always results in collateral damage which then angers the communities they are supposed to be “helping”.
Given that the US pilots are fairly well trained, what kind of political fallout do you think will occur when you put these weapons into the hands of allies who have received way less training?
This definitely will lead to a war amongst the Arab nations, and when they have all the technology and have made peace with each other, they could be understood going against the “Western” nations that interfered with their lives and brought that war upon them.
It is also interesting to note that the funding for even more advanced US weaponry is being contested with the development of technologies to fight against insurgents on the ground.
By balancing the military might of the US with it’s adversaries, we are playing once again into the St. Malachy’s prophecies.
I think we can throw blindness, at least blindness to the prophecies, out of the equation as I’m sure someone in their staff knows of these prophecies.
So I ask: Are we tempting fate? Are we counting on the “goodness” of humanity that the war prophecies of St. Malachy will not come to pass? Is the universe deterministic in that this outcome is inevitable?
Or is there some reason that we have to follow the prophecies and see them fulfilled?
Disclaimer: Which ever side of the US / Middle East political spectrum you are on, this blog entry is merely to discuss the prophecy and how the policies relate to the prophecies. This is not a discussion about the policies themselves.
Live pork and beef fest!
Less than a month ago, a herd of cows decided that Mississauga was the place to graze when they fell out of a truck on the highway near our city. One of the cows was a “mad cow” which decided to charge residents and had to be put down.Today, lil porkers were at the opposite end of our city, apparently also falling out of their transport. Fire crews called for backup as more than three little pigs roamed around while they tried to fight the fire on the transport truck.
Fire on a truck? Little pigs on that truck? How come no one was called to the “cha-siu” (chinese bbq pork) feast? Damn those emergency crews probably ate them all!
I wonder what animal will grace our city next with a visit.
Cross Dressing Cafe
These aren’t your ordinary maids. =P
Mississauga: Life in pictures
I have not been keeping up to date with the picture posting for a while. So here is the story of my life in Mississauga in pictures.
First, we have Jaylan Birl, a gymnast who won a medal in the championships in Berlin. Coming out of gymnastics Mississauga, this 14 year-old will be someone to keep an eye on in the upcoming Nationals in Alberta.
I also had the opportunity, the pleasure even, of shooting the Miss Polonia Canada 2008 pageant. Think 22 of the best that Polish Canadians had to offer. In the end, Sandra Kaczor won the title! I think she was a great candidate and I loved her headshots that were taken before the pageant.
I got to see Peter Czerwinski attempt to devour a 72 oz steak in five minutes. Apparently, he had done it in seven before, unofficially smashing the world record. He was really on pace to finish the steak in record time through the first two minutes. Unfortunately, a piece of fat and a pot roast shaped steak foiled his attempts.
I finally got to meet our Premier Dalton McGuinty and he was pretty personable. The NIMDAC fundraising gala was a great cause to raise money for the physically disabled and they also awarded our Lieutenant Governor a lifetime achievement award for his efforts in the cause.
Quote: Searching deeper
“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.”
~ Robert Fritz
Sometimes you have to make things happen, create the opportunity and not wait for one to appear.
What is dan’ism?
Jade asked me what dan’ism was … well, these quotes and precepts are what I try to live by now.
Precepts
No fear. No doubt. No regrets
Don’t be afraid to try new things. Have confidence in the decision you made to try it. Don’t make decisions that you can’t live with.
Desire. Passion. Focus.
If you desire something, put your passion and focus into it! I actually made this up when I was dragonboating. I put my passion into paddling and the desire to cross that finish line made me put my full focus into my paddling in the summers.
When I decided I wanted to switch from computer programming, even though I was really good at it, to being a news photographer, a career I knew little about, I just put my desire, passion and focus together and went with it.
Backup plan? Well, while I had programming as a backup, I tried not to think about it. Prepare the backup, then forget about it. You won’t need it. Constantly thinking about your backup is having self-doubt.
Quotes
“Twenty years from now
you will be more disappointed
by the things you didn’t do
than by the ones you did do.So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbour.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~ Mark Twain
Do not be afraid to explore! Do not be afraid to play outside of your sandbox! I do have regrets unfortunately. The regrets are the things that I did not do. From now on, the no-regrets part of what I try to live by, is in trying to experience as much of life as I can.
“Not knowing history is to not have a compass on events. It’s like being in the middle of an ongoing conversation and not know what anybody has been saying.”
~ Caroline Myss
We should learn from past mistakes, to know where we are going. Our past helps guide us through to our future. If you have no past, you have no future. Afterall, your life is the sum of your experiences! Your actions are guided by those experiences.
“I’m a lover, not a fighter, but I’ll fight for what I love.”
~ Anon
Make love, not war! But defend what your love with everything you’ve got! Of course, pick the place of battle and weapon of choice carefully. Whether it be words, fists, or whatever else you’ve got!
“You grow old the moment you stop learning. The secret to eternal youth is to keep on learning.”
~ Anon
Keep learning! Old people always “don’t do this” or “don’t like to try that”. The world they live in is preconceived in their minds and the borders they set up to keep that world intact, is what keeps them old. Again, look at Mark Twain’s quote. It applies even to your dying day!
“Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart”
~ Chinese Proverb
If you want to do something, just do it. Feel it. Go with it! Why do something and then hold back on doing it? That’s fear. That’s doubt. That’s lacking confidence.
“Only exceptionally rational men can afford to be absurd.”
~ Allan Goldfein
“Great ideas often receive violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
~ Albert Einstein
“The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success.”
~ Bruce Feirstein
Don’t be afraid to use your imagination. To boldy go where no man has gone before. Afterall, before man first went into space, we all dreamt of what it would be like.
“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is compromise.”
~ Robert Fritz
Sometimes you have to make things happen, create the opportunity and not wait for one to appear.
“A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.”
~ Chinese proverb
Don’t be afraid to get things done. Little by little, a mountain can be moved. (I’m sure there’s a quote for that latter part.)
“Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
~ Dylan Thomas
Whatever you do, don’t give up!
So that’s what I try to live by. And that list grows every day. Because I keep learning.
“And every hour of every day I’m learning more
The more I learn, the less I know about before
The less I know, the more I want to look around
Digging deep for clues on higher ground…”
~ UB40 – Higher Ground
On Tibet and China
Tagged china, commentary, tibet
Posted in in the news
by Dan Ho
I got this off Jason’s Facebook note:
My comment on there was that generally, people wanting to be in your position will try to knock you off that position with ridiculous allegations. People who are secretly doing what you’re doing, will try to detract attention from themselves by placing the negative spotlight on you.
Chinese human rights violations? Hey, how about Abu Ghabi prison and other US soldier attrocities?
China used to bomb Tibetan temples? Doesn’t the US bomb mosques and homes fairly frequently these days?
I’m not a big supporter of bombing Tibetan temples, nor am I am advocate of destroying mosques and homes.
However, one thing sticks out: It’s always about propaganda. The problem here, is the title of the poem.
“by a Silent, Silent Chinese”
The Chinese just don’t care about what people say or think, and forge along on their own path. The United States and Western world, however, make sure every negative scenerio is deflected off them and every positive moment lasts for as long as it can.
It is not that either is completely right or wrong. Both countries have their good and their bad but while one just doesn’t care and forges ahead, the other tries to control public perception.
It is intriguing how people “blame the press” for exaggerating stories and portraying China in a negative light. I have always been taught that the press “is the eyes and ears of the public”. We generally just report on what we see.
As for those pro-Chinese people who blame the press for the “Free Tibet” issue going out of hand, think about it from this perspective: the “Free Tibet” movement is a lot more eye catching. Someone geting beat up at the “Free Tibet” rally is a lot more emotional than a bunch of people standing around waving Chinese flags.
A “Free Tibet” rally is more emotional than a pro-Chinese movement at the moment it happens and when publiczed to the world, it will carry that emotion. Granted too that pro-Tibet demonstrations vastly outnumber pro-Chinese ones, the media will focus it’s lenses on that movement.
Last is my answer to the question that the poem above ended with: “What do you really want from us? Think hard first.”
When people think say “I have a problem with you doing X.” If X is the real problem, then when you come to a solution, a compromise, or stop doing X, then the conflict should be resolved.
On the other hand, like in the poem, people come to you saying they have a problem with “X”. Then when you talk to them and arrive at a solution “Y”, they publicly say that you’re not doing the “right thing” with solution “Y”.
So you think hard and ask them to think hard what do they actually want? Afterall, this is probably a mis-communication. They then talk to you privately, so as not to cause a scene, that perhaps solution “Z” would be the best of all.
Finally, after solution “Z” is implemented, they announce to the world through the media that you’re the evil of the world because solution “X” is the way it should be.
Meanwhile, the “silent silent Chinese” simply sits there scratching his head, wondering what went wrong with this “peaceful, discreet” solution? They ask “what do they really want from us?”
That situation really gives you the truthful answer to that question “What do you really want from us? Think hard first.”
China is the world’s largest population, with one of the cheapest labour costs. They are an economic dragon waking up in the far east. Their military might, while currently inferior to the United States, grows rapidly. They are one of the biggest creditors, while the United States is in debt.
Contrary to the writer’s request, they have thought hard. The answer is simply this.
“You are in a postion that I want to be, or you are in a position to catch up and surpass me. So I will use propaganda to force you aside, because I want to be the only one on top and in first place.”