The Welfare of a Nation.

There are many who live their comfortable lives with no grasp of the problems that are still actually out there. For example, I have lived my entire life living in a relatively small city that always seemed clean, quiet and safe. I had no idea that there were so many mentally unstable and homeless in the downtown area until recently. The system is set up in a way to keep them there. They aren't given any incentive to try to make changes for themselves and depressingly enough, a lot of them are using their monthly welfare cheques, paid for by our tax dollars to buy drugs. In that respect the government is funding addiction and homelessness with our tax dollars. Wouldn't that money be better spent on some sort of home care service to try and put these people back on track? I know this could be done as it's a similar idea to how our system helps the disabled. I would even go as far as to argue that many of these people are disabled people who fell through the cracks.

My real issue here is not with the people who can't help themselves, as they really need something in place to keep them on the straight and narrow, so much as the people who don't want to help themselves. I personally know a few people who are more or less living off the system as a free ride. They sleep in shelters for only a small portion of their welfare cheque and try to convince others to buy them drugs and other things when they are low on funds.

This is why I feel to clean up the streets we need some form of social care system to help those who want to be helped, as I know they exist, and let those who don't want to be helped sleep in the bed they've made. I can't justify giving 30% of my paycheck to a government who helps people buy drugs and Listerine. We are taxed hard here in Canada and we smile and brag about our badass healthcare system, but maybe it's time to reexamine how that money is being spent. I'm cool with being taxed if it's in the name of making this beautiful country a better place.

I need to clarify though, obviously we can't just leave those who don't want to be helped out in the cold, as much as I believe in a certain degree of tough love. I just feel, that if you want free money, maybe you should be showing that you actually want to do well with it.

This system does not and is never gonna work as long as the policy makers have their heads up in the clouds. Unfortunately, I'm just some naive lower mid-class person who doesn't like what he sees, and maybe I'm bitter because I haven't given up and won a prize as so many do.

I'm frustrated, and maybe it's time for something new. I bet I get some hate for this one, but I'm standing by it.

'Movie Buff' or how I learned to just say I like movies

There are a lot of simple things in this world that drive me up the freaking wall. I don't like skinny jeans, can't understand country music and genuinely hate reality tv. Today however, I feel it is necessary to explain why the term 'film buff/movie buff' always makes you sound like a pompous asshat!

First off, allow me to look up a semi official meaning to the term from the urban dictionary.

"when someone is addicted to movies and actively goes to the cinema on a regular basis."

Meaning, my local homeless tend to be Listerine buffs. That is not how I interpret the word buff. Buff implies some form of knowledge, and at very least is said in a way that implies you think you are an expert.

If these average movie watchers are movie buffs, then I'm the equivalent to movie-Jahovah! However I'm not. I'm just a guy who watches a lot of movies. See what I did there? I told you what I am, accurately and honestly.

Calling yourself a movie buff is like telling people that you are brilliant. The second you do it people will test your claim, and probably disprove it in their minds within 3 minutes. Let me take away an illusion right now. You don't know nearly as much about movies as you think. To say you are an expert on movies is like saying you are an expert on beer after trying every kind at your local liquer store. You probably don't know how it's made, nor do you know enough about beer to even grasp how many other beers are out there in the world (though I sure am craving a Sapporo about now).

In closing, I feel, a real expert should know the bad as well as the good, so if you want to call yourself a movie buff go watch every Tyler Perry movie, then we'll talk.

Loaf of bread, check. Milk, check. Exciting novel... wha?

I love to read, and tend to go through quite a bit of books in the course of a month. With my current job of being a Security Guard, it doesn't take much imagination to see how I'm able to do that. Long nights of sitting in a quiet place with the occasional patrol can lead to two things: Keep your mind busy, or fall asleep and lose your job.

This post is not me saying I like to read though. This is about something much more sinister. When people see me reading they automatically jump to the conclusion that I need more books in my life and not just any books. I swear, the only people who lend books in this town think the local supermarket is a book store. I have been brought 7 different books now, and they all were a generic mess. Also, no wonder these things sell so well, they are ADD proof! Every chapter is 4 pages long, ending with a supposed cliffhanger that doesn't work cause the characters have no development. The best reason I can figure for that is so people can imagine themselves as the characters. Don't even get me started on the length either! These books are usually over 400 pages, which is sad because I can tell you what it's all about in 2 minutes. Perhaps if they spent less time explaining every thought to you, we could cut it down to 200 pages?

Here is the formula:

1. Something happens that is shocking.
2. Inexplicably the main character of several of these books is called immediately and asked to look into it. Let me make this clear, they have no personality, they are just written to always do the right thing.
3. Characters around these main characters all have no clue how to deal with it, and talk about how great the main character is all the time.
4. Main character has real life issues going on while this is happening, whether it be a sick loved one or a tragic past. This can be used to bring the plot to a halt and make the book longer.
5. They write in some big ending thing where the main character is the center of a crisis that would destroy the world or something foolish like that.
6. The President calls the main character and knows him on a first name basis, proudly telling him good job.

There, I just made it so you don't have to read any supermarket books. That's all of them.

Why are these books so successful? That's an easy one. If you read you are smart, at least that's what people tend to think (seriously I'm told I must be brilliant everyday when people see me reading, based only on the fact that I'm reading). Everyone wants to seem smart, but let's face it, not everyone really can dedicate the time to reading, so once they try these books they realize, wow I've read 400 pages in 6 hours, and understood all of it easily, I really like reading and I'm smart. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there, listening to these people gushing about the newest Alex Cross story while I'm trying to read something actually interesting like Atonement, or
The Remains of the Day.

These books can be found at a book store too, so how do you avoid them? It's simple, they will have the most generic names you've ever seen in your life. The one I'm "reading" right now is called The Panic Zone. Previously I've "enjoyed" Pirate (this is the worst offender), Roses Are Red, Violets are Blue (yeah, two separate books), Wicked Prey, and so on.

To make matters worse, the other day I was reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, (which you should be reading right now, as opposed to my stupid blog) and a really smarmy older lady, with lots of tacky jewelery and more money than brains came up to me. She said, "What are you reading?" I replied "Slaughterhouse Five." She rolled her eyes and let out a laugh as though to say, oh how quaint, you have poor taste in books. I bet if Fabio was on the cover she would have praised my taste.

Anyway, the moral is, that if you see someone reading a book, it doesn't mean they like all books. If you know the book they are reading and you know of one that is similar, go for it, offer to lend it to them, but don't pressure them if they say they have too many books on the go.

I'm just tired of being pressured into boring books when I have so many great ones still ahead of me! What makes it worse is that it is only a product of good intention and I really wish I didn't feel so guilty that I had to read them once they were handed to me.