Our cat Fatima gets very confused when she comes into my office to find Keaton sleeping under her blanket. Good thing she still has her claws…
Jan 01 2012
The Bubbly Virgin
Last night, New Year’s Eve, sitting at the bar in our local pub with a friend and the bartender…
“Get a good grip. That’s it.”
“Like this?”
“Yeah, now move it gently. Gently! That’s it, keep going. Pull it slowly.”
“I hope I’m doing this right.”
“Mm, you got it. Nice. I can see it coming. The trick is not to make a sound…”
*pop*
“Yes!”
“Oh, it’s frothing!”
Dec 31 2011
100 Strangers on New Year’s Eve
Screenshot of Ted's website: TedRysz3.com
Walking home along King West today (after braving the crowds at the LCBO to buy a bottle of bubbly for tonight’s New Year’s Eve festivities, which in our case involves sitting at home with cheese, hummus, bread, olives, bruschetta, wine, and a selection of our favourite pre-recorded TV shows), I saw a young couple in front of me with cameras slung over their shoulders. As I approached them both, the young guy turned and politely asked if I had a minute to talk to him.
“Sure,” I said.
He introduced himself to me as Ted and his companion as Emily, and went on to explain that they were creating a project called “100 Strangers”, which involved approaching a stranger in the street to ask if they could take his or her photo, to eventually be posted on the project’s website.
I was asked if I wouldn’t mind having my photo taken as part of the project, and I agreed—I’m always game for a spontaneous, out-of-the-ordinary experience, so he took a few photos of me on a damp and gloomy King Street as I did some of my best ‘men’s catalogue-style’ poses!
I visited Ted’s website when I got home. He has a blog and I discovered after reading one of his posts that he and Emily are from the U.S. and that they had decided to spend New Year’s Eve in Toronto, while taking advantage of the trip to snap some photos of strangers in this city.
As a photographer, there is no other subject that gives me more joy than any person. More then two months and over 60 photos into the project, I decided that with the help of Emily Shearing, a truly wonderful and inspirational person, we would attempt to photograph 100 strangers in a major city. As we discussed our New Year’s Eve plans, we decided that Toronto would be a wonderful city to visit.
–Ted Paul Rysz
So, good luck with the project, guys, and have a happy New Year’s Eve in Toronto!
Dec 27 2011
Mythical Being Launches Attack on Ministries’ Finances
Right Wing Watch reports that, for the third straight year, conservative activist pastor Rod Parsley is pleading with his congregation to send him money. Nothing new there, you’d think—he is a televangelist, after all, and asking his flock to part with their own money is something they do all the time.
What surprised me is that Parsley is claiming that a mythical being is the source of an ‘attack’ on his Breakthrough ministries. On the main page of his website he has an ad stating that Satan has attacked Breakthrough’s finances and that he needs $1.2 million by year’s end to help him “continue to preach the Gospel to a lost and hurting world through our Breakthrough television broadcast.”
Rod Parsley ad
Here’s a video of his plea, on YouTube: Rod Parsley Attacked By Satan Again
I don’t know whether to feel sorry for the poor, desperate people who get sucked into this type of scam, or to shrug my shoulders at the fact that they would even fall for this bullshit and deserve what they get; being fleeced by someone (again) who allegedly leads an extravagant lifestyle and owns a $1 million home.
As one well-known minister writes of faith healers and health-and-wealth preachers who dominate religious television:
Their love of money is glaringly obvious in what they say as well as how they live. They claim to possess great spiritual power, but in reality they are rank materialists and enemies of everything holy.
—John MacArthur, online article at http://www.gty.org/Blog/B091207
If Rod Parsley’s followers were giving him money in payment for some of his antics onstage, that I could understand—it’s pure entertainment, after all!
Dec 21 2011
A morning walk to work
Walking by the TIFF Bell Lightbox building on King West on the way to work this morning, a guy in front of us strolls along with a hint of a drunken swagger. Dressed in ripped and soiled jeans, a dirty jacket that’s too big for his slight frame and carrying a green plastic bottle crate, he weaves and snakes his way through the early morning crowd. Oncoming people have to steer clear of him, as he moves from side to side on the already narrow sidewalk, seemingly oblivious to their presence.
I wonder why he’s carrying a crate. Does he sit on it outside of Tim Horton’s or Starbucks all day, panhandling for change? He looks down-and-out, like he’s seen better days and now his luck has run out.
Across the street on the side of the TIFF building, an impeccably dressed, larger-than-life image of Grace Kelly stares down on this unfolding scene with mild disinterest.
He seems to sense our approach and slowly turns around to make eye contact.
“Hey, fellas!” He actually shouts this loudly, as we begin passing by.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I reply, in a friendly way.
He blinks. I don’t think he’s used to people sounding so friendly after one of his outbursts.
“It’s goin’, it’s goin’…” he mumbles quietly after a second or two.
At this point we’ve passed him by and are on our way down the street, moving steadily away from Grace’s watchful gaze.
“It’s fuckin’ goin’!” he says, with an increase in volume.
“I said it’s FUCKIN’ GOIN’, assholes!” he shouts, as we make our way to work this morning.
Author Info
I was born in England, spent part of my childhood in Zambia and eventually immigrated to Canada. This is a blog about the news and events in my life, my interests in politics, religion, human rights, science, reason, and the odd post here and there about my cats.
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