Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Where for art thou, blogger?

Friends, Blog-readers, Donors - lend me your wallets (coin purses are acceptable too)!

Forgive me Bloggians, for it has been one week since my last solicitation. I know I've neglected this realm of cyber-space for far too long, and I am here to make ammends - and yet another pitch for cash! C'mon kids, in the spirit of giving - give! I have set an ambitious amount as my target for fundraising, and this past weekend, I witnessed first-hand the power of ambition.

I volunteered for the MS Society's WALK for a Cure for MS up in the Kawartha Lakes region. My pride n' joy fundraising guru of a girlfriend, Jodi, co-ordinated this magnificent event and it went off without so much as a hitch, let alone glitch! To see a community band together to raise money and raise awareness of a cause so near and dear to them was heart-warming to say the least.

Me, I just tried to stay out of the way and just do my part. And so, now that the weekend has come and gone, I am renewed in my quest to raise money for a cause near and dear to my heart. I will not exploit your heartstrings, rather, I'm looking for you to search your own, along with your pursestrings and just give, its tax-deductible for those of you for whom its important, but its just plain good to do.

I've managed to raise $116 so far, a mere $884 away from my goal of $1000!!! To those who've donated, thank you! To those thinking of donating and have yet to do so, Thank you, in advance!

OK, so let's go out there n' give one for the gipper!

On a complete side-note, I just received my Sopranos Boxed Set from China - at a fraction of the cost here in T.O. - and I've already finished Season 1. Man that show is mad-addictive!

I miss you too!

Done
EM

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

"My Blogger's Back and you're gonna be in trouble..."

Hey All! In a spirited rip-off of an old lyric, I have returned to the world ' o blog!

And, in keeping with the spirit of musical lyrics, but to my unexpectedly favourite surprise in the National Post's "Avenue" section, a recent U.K. poll on music lyrics was published. According to those members of the Great British Empire, their favourite song lyric of all time is:

One Life, With Each Other, Sisters, Brothers - U2

And, if that's not enough, in the fun lil' list of the Top 100, the Irish Uber Group managed to take up spots in the # 11 and 98 position with I want to run, I want to hide, I want to tear down the walls, that hold me inside... and One man come on a barbed wire fence, One man he resist, One man washed on an empty beach, One man betrayed with a kiss... respectively.

So, other than that...what else is going on?

Pesach is still on, yum, maztah!
Leafs are out of contention and in contempt with a lot of people.
Tehran is scaring the living shit outta people and in my humble opinion needs to be tought an intrinsic lesson on the effects of an A-bomb going off right up your arse...
Still working on my movie script which I hope to post soon...
Still working on collecting donations for support for my WALK With Israel campaign - up to $100 or so - shy about $900 for my goal, and I could really, really, really, use your support.

Ok, no real rhyme or reason to this one, so I guess I'll just leave you with the idea that Oh you look so beautiful tonight...

Please give: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/personalPage.aspx?EventID=5317&LangPref=en-CA&RegistrationID=164402


Done.

EM

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Passover

Well, 'tis the season once again, where, much like the vast majority of professional schools choose to "passover" my application, we the Jews find the time to schmooze n' eat unleavened bread (a.k.a. Matza) and celebrate the holy holiday of Passover (Pesach, Pesah, No-bread-week).

No real bloggin' here 'cept to say "Chag Sameach to you and yours and all of theirs this lovely year" - translation - HAPPY PASSOVER!

To my non-Jewish readers (I'm not sure I have any to be honest, 'cause I don't think Craig reads this thing and, well quite frankly he's an Honourary Heeb - like the shirt says)...you're welcome to drop in (if I know you) and take part in our celebration - or you could wait for the DVD edition of OUR SEDER due out in stores in early May...

Moses, OUT!

Done.

EM

Monday, April 10, 2006

"Call it in the air"

So...Wow, been some interesting and rather sophistimicated talk as of late, and well, that's good!

Heads its Michigan, Tails its UofT - wha????? Where did UofT come from? More specifically, OISE - the Teacher's College??? Well kids, seems a funny thing happened to me on the way home from a birthright israel alumni meeting - I come home and to my extreme shock and pleasure is a simple looking manilla envelope from OISE addressed to yours truly.

Well, I opened it and no sooner than I read the first line's words - "we are pleased to offer you admission to our program" than I nearly fainted from shock.

See, I "dreamed" that if I do get into UofT (this is the segway back to our recent posting) - I'd go! And so now, I am wrestling with the decision of Law School or Teacher's College.

...and the winner is.... ME! B/c no matter what I choose, I'll have made the right choice for me and that's what's important.
However, to answer your question Mr. K - it'll be UofT for me!

I'm going to be a teacher, an educator, a facillitator of our youth's acquisition of knowledge - god help you all! muahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!


P.S. - In the spirit of shameless promotion for fundraisers - a) if you haven't already done so, donate to Jodi's WALK. b) if you haven't already done so, and many of you have yet to, please, please, please send in your tax-deductible pledge for my UJA Walk with Israel - Many thanks!

For your donating pleasure:

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/personalPage.aspx?EventID=5317&LangPref=en-CA&RegistrationID=164402

Friday, April 07, 2006

RE: To coin-flip or not to coin-flip - see Marto's Blog for details!

Fate. Kismet. Chance. Coincidence. Whatever.

As I came across Marty's blog - the Steve Jobs' addresse - I thought the apple doesn't fall far from the ipod! I further went on to read Levs' apology (not the "i'm sorry" type, the other...look it up!) for Jobs' and his commentary. Then, to add onto that, I checked out the comments by anonymous (I'm assuming either IK or SAJ). So, naturally, I felt the need to chip-in-my-two-cents!

As inspiring as Jobs' speech was (and you should read it), and as realistic as Marty's dissection of said speech was, the fact remains that in one's life, one must make their own decisions.

I'm an expert on this topic, and as I stated at the begining (kinda), this particular posting on Marty's site was fate, etc. For I have been contemplating and dissecting and introspecting and suspecting and any other "ing" you wanna use for the past few weeks/months (possibly years, though maybe in my subconsciousness).

I have a decision to make. It's a biggie too - and no, its not about whether or not to watch this movie or that movie or to colour-code my closet - but it's about my life (and to me, that's a big deal).

I need to decide what is it exactly that I'm going to do for a career. Am I going to reach for the stars, dream big dreams, accept my fate, further accept my reality, take control of my destiny or be led like a sheep in the heard. Furthermore, if I ultimately choose to step right, will I REGRET years later perhaps, that I did not choose to turn left instead?

Can I live with such second-guessing? Should anyone? And so, then I come across these posts/commentaries and I laugh. Irony is a bitch! I don't quite know where I'm going with this, so forgive the ramblings of a babbling Jew, but I think you just helped make my decision making process slightly less askew.

The fact remains that there's nothing wrong with reaching beyond the heavens for that piece of fame or golden horseshoe or whatever - famous actor? star poker-player? first person in their neighbourhood to eat 350 frozen dinners in 24-hour period - whatever! On the flip side, there's nothing wrong with staying the course, settling for a more reasonable and/or achieveable and ultimately sustainable career. $65,000/year is good coin. $100K is better and yet, $24,500 is enough to survive on too!

I think the true test here, is not to dream of running away to India or wherever (why India only Vishnu knows, me personally, I'd have analagized somewhere like Colombia or Peru or San Salvador). And as a brief aside - even if you choose India etc. so what?! The bottom line - you have to accept your choice. You have to be content that it's the right move for you. This choice is not meant to be easy or fun or fulfilling for that matter - that's for the future to play out.

Life's a bitch sometimes. Good people get fucked over for no reason, bad people sneak on by, fence-sitters eventually get hemherroids - and its hard, trust me, its very hard to watch those you admire/respect/envy/hate/whatever pass you by. They're seemingly making the right choices and doing well - but reality is that they're doing what's right for them - and they may or may not be loving the process just the same!

Advice, whether solicited or not, is merely the opinions/guidance/experiences of those who've been "there" before you. Advice is all around us. I've gotten some fantastic advice recently - more like perspective, but it's the same thing. The reason I say its so fantastic, is that sadly its been barely uttered by the words of a loveable, dying woman. Though frail and sadly beaten by the motherfucker that is cancer - her mind is razor-sharp! Her words, are poignant, succinct, brutally honest and most of all sincere. They're painfully uttered with the goal of helping me to steer clear of ill-decisions. I appreciate them, and I will do my utmost to honour them, and to honour her alike. I've clearly rambled and babbled waaaay off course. I have a lot on my mind.

I do however think, that in the end, when you're alone with your thoughts and memories, you have to hope that you've done well. Be proud of your decisions, accept fate sometimes, other times, control the destiny of your universe, manipulate the outcome, rig the game, give to charity, kiss your mother, hug your father, smile at strangers, play with children, colour outside of the lines, splurge on gifts - for you, for those you love, for those you're trying to love - take a chance, test boundaries, get into a fight, make up, stand-up for your principles, learn when to back down, argue, listen, sleep-in - a lot!, apologize, fuck' em, do for yourself, do for others, steal something, return a lost/found item, be yourself, make up a story...bottom line - choose. struggle with choice. and then...as hard as it is...decide - that's where I'm at now, and let me tell you it's not fun, but deep down I rely on the fact that ultimately, I'll have done my best, and in the end that's all I care about.

Thanks for reading, thanks to Marty, thanks to Steve Jobs.

P.S. Nothing wrong with being Bono - other than the fact that no one, not on this earth or elsewhere can ever BE BONO...only Bono is Bono!

Just be a U2 Fan instead!

Done.

EM

Thursday, April 06, 2006

There's No NATION like DONATION!

Hey guys, looks like the donation bug is spreading - I've decided to throw my hat in the ring and raise some funds for the Walk for Israel on Sunday May 28, 2006!

I would greatly appreciate your support - just click on the link below and any amount you're able to give is greatly appreciated - and, its TAX DEDUCTIBLE!! God Bless Tax Loopholes!

Thanks!

Done.

EM



https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/personalPage.aspx?EventID=5317&LangPref=en-CA&RegistrationID=164402

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

A Blog a Day, Keeps the ??? Away!

Speechless. I'm utterly speechless. I have nothing to say (which, as many of you who know me, is a true rarity). Alas, I have come to the realization that today, and indeed for much of the past few weeks, I just don't have anything to say.

That's bothersome. Also, I'm becoming increasingly forgetful. For instance, I was about to say something, to write it down here in blog-o-world, and I forgot. Which leads me back to my first point - I have nothing to say.

Maybe, maybe there's some conspiracy out there...someone's seeping into my inner thoughts and extracting them, leaving me speechless and forgetful at the same time. While you might argue the ill-effects of paranoia, you might be wrong, and as scary as it sounds, I might be right - actually, that doesn't sound so scary at all...I quite like the sound of that really - I AM RIGHT.


Ohhh, I've got an idea for a movie - it's actually not my idea, but I was certainly influenced by something I saw on TV - mmmmm, tv, is there anything you don't know?!? - anyways, Jon Stewart said something in passing and well, I'm gonna write a script of sorts - and I'll be posting it online - bits and pieces at a time - and hopefully, it will be good, you'll like it and heck, I'll even take some creative input from you my readers, and you'll even get a writing credit or something. Then, when I become a big-shot Hollywood type, I won't forget you, I'll invite you out to my amazing Villa and we'll party and carry on like the rich mofo's we are...and it'll be all b/c I WAS RIGHT.

Much love to you all...enjoy the script to come!

Done.

EM

Monday, April 03, 2006

Bureaucratic Bastards!

So, did you know that the freakin' government can suspend your driver's licence without prior notice? No? Well, now you do!

These lame-duck bureaucratic motherf*@#$@s decided to show me how they can flex their tiny muscles!

Apparently, I missed paying a speeding ticket - ok, guilty on that, but no reminder letter or nothing. No courtesy mailing. Zip. Just get a random phone call saying my ass is going to collections unless I pay off this stupid fine within 3 hours!

Ok, so I pay the fine (as I was supposed to, only now with added juice for some fuckin' flavour) and I think I'm done right? wrong!

The bitch (and I'll explain soon why I'm calling her that) tells me I'm good to go - except that my licence has been suspended!!!!

After coming too from that giant slap upside my head, I ask this "woman" how do I go about unsuspending my licence. She tells me all I have to do is go down to the MTO and pony up some money (surprise, surprise!) and voila - done.

So I head down (ya, I drove, fuck 'em!) to the MTO shop and a lovely young lady informs me that there's a delay pending on my account, and that I'm going to be suspended for a few days more - unless I can get the court lady to fax a document to their office - no problem I say, as I start dialing the myriad of digits it takes to crack through to a human being.

I get through (38.12 minutes later) and ask the same unpleasant woman I dealt with in person if she could fax this info to the MTO office. "No". When I ask why, she replies that she simply cannot b/c there was no "court error in the matter" - I explain to her that if she simply faxes one tiny document, I could forego waiting an extra 5 days of driving time and that the matter would get resolved within 30 minutes.

What grinds my gears the most here, is that this bitch knew there was a holding period b/w paying up outstanding fines and reinstating one's D.L. - and she didn't tell me about it, in fact, when I asked her point-blank "so, now that I've paid I'm all up to date and there's no more problems, I can go get my licence back?" - she answered in the affirmative. Only, now that I've got her on the phone she's swimming down the largest river in Egypt - DENIAL (sp. error included for artistic measure).

I even went so far as to ask her if I lying, and so when I asked her "you calling me a liar"? she answered "yes, I am".

Then she hung up. This bitch, grrrrrrrrrrr, is gonna get hers. Somebody-gonna-get a bad bad X-Mas stocking stuffer - namely my foot up her ass!!!

I hate these ball-busting, anal-retentive, union-protected social misfits they got working for the government. It takes a certain type of asshole to work for the government - all the sour puss motherfuckers who never amounted to shit all since Day 1 of their meaningless existance.

These were the kids always being picked last for sports, played the Tuba in Band, sat alone at the lunch counter, got hit on by the ugly brace-faced-pimple-faced losers IF THEY WERE LUCKY! in high school. I hate bureaucracy. This frigid c**t is lucky that the main form of human contact for her is by people yelling at her through her plexi-glass throne. One day, some crazed moron is gonna wait for this bitch in the parking lot (and I am in now way promoting such vile and dispicable acts) - I'm just saying, that these bureau-bitches and assholes alike have got to start understanding that when you are dealing with the public, with the taxpayers who help pay their riddiculously higher than average wages, they better learn how and when to speak!

Arrrghhh.

Done (for now but not really)

EM

Saturday, April 01, 2006

It's the end of Pop Culture as we know it...

Seems like any idiot today can get on tv or in the movies. So I ask myself, "hey, why aren't you rich and famous and on tv?" - and no sooner than I finish asking myself that very question, I immediately realize the answer, and it's so painfully obvious... I'M NOT AN IDIOT!

See, only brain-dead fools like Jessica Simpson or Ashton Kuchar or better yet - Donald Trump or that fat guy from Survivor (pick one)!

Further to Marty's post on his site - with respect to idiotic television shows, movies - you're right! You just want to gouge your eyes out with dull insruments laced poisonous toxins.

But then I ask you my readers - what alternatives do we have? If not for film or television, then what? Books? Art? Dare I suggest Blogs?

Future looks bleak indeed! Sheesh!

Done.

EM