Ademus Papam!

An estimated one hundred and fifty thousand people waited around on the plaza at St-Peter`s Basilica, for the announcement of their new King, I mean, spiritual leader. And, almost as fast as the white-smoke dissipated, the moment was over, and everybody left. I was left wondering.

I watched the whole thing live; I was at home and sick that day. As a non-believer, raised catholic (by an ex-nun, no less), the frenzy surrounding the new pope has me baffled. Media analysts and critics spent hours analyzing an event with the same fervor and determination as they did the USA election of 2004. I mean come-on. Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? This is supposed to be a spiritual event, guided by god and a bunch of old men sitting inside a gold trimmed church, burning voting ballots in a tradition that is almost as old as... Well, its old. Very, very old.

Some crazies might say that god (yes with a small g) himself struck me with the stomach flu that day so that I would not have to go to work and be a witness to his choosing of the new head of the catholic church (yes, lowercase letters again). That is all Bullcrap (capital letter). I think he was probably busy trying to inspire the 115 old fogies at the conclave: *twilight zone music* god is everywhere!!!!

So, where are we headed now? Oh they say Herr Ratzinger is a conservative cardinal. I even heard some Radio-Canada journalist on the French-Canada national news channel up in arms about how horrible it was the conclave ended with such a conservative man as the head of the church (get used to it, I am not capitalizing those words).

Well, stop the presses. "Ademus papam" or we have a conservative pope. Oh my god! (Pardon the pun!) Is it really something worth writing about? Open any newspaper and note how much time has been devoted to precisely that topic. How unbelievable it is, that a conservative organization has elected another conservative leader. I even heard a priest on TV, whose name I wish I could remember saying: "I don't think of the church as conservative, I think of it as catholic." Well, that says it all.

I guess 1.6 billion catholics can't be wrong. Or can they? I will save my religious hate mongering for another post. I just might burn in hell. I hear that's where most of my friends are headed anyway.

Civil Rights!

ENGLISH ­ SEE BELOW

CANADIENS ET CANADIENNES POUR LE DROIT ÉGAL AU MARIAGEÊ: APPEL À L'ACTION

Le premier vote lié au projet de loi C-38 sur le droit égal au mariage se tiendra le mardi 12 avril. Les membres du Parlement devront alors se prononcer sur une motion de Stephen Harper destinée à faire avorter le projet de loi. NOUS DEVONS REMPORTER CE VOTE, SINON LE PROJET DE LOI MOURRA AU FEUILLETON!

Nous possédons une légère avance à l'heure actuelle au décompte des votes, mais il y des dangers. Est-ce que tous les membres du Parlement qui appuient le projet de loi se présenteront le jour du vote? Les quatre députés conservateurs qui appuient le projet de loi oseront-ils s'opposer à la motion de leur chef?

Canadiens et Canadiennes pour le droit égal au mariage vous invite à contacter votre députée ou député dès aujourd'hui! Allez à www.mariageegal.ca , puis à l'étape 1. Envoyez un courriel à tous les membres du Parlement. À l'étape 1, vous trouverez leurs numéros de téléphone et de télécopieur respectifs. Il suffit de leur indiquer que vous appuyez le droit égal au mariage de même que le projet de loi C-38.

Les opposants à l'égalité des personnes LGBT ne reculeront devant rien avant le vote final. Aujourd'hui même, le samedi 9 avril, ils ont organisé une marche pour le mariage et la liberté sur la colline du Parlement. Stephen Harper en personne s'est adressé à la foule!

Des messages d'opposition inonderont les bureaux des députées et des députés d'ici mardi, et il importe que ceux-ci entendent également nos voix!

Nous avons l'occasion de régler la question une fois pour toutes ­ mais nous ne gagnerons pas le combat sans votre aide. Veuillez contacter votre députée ou député dès aujourd'hui, ou envoyer un courriel à tous les membres du Parlement en vous rendant à http://www.mariageegal.ca/contactezcand_f.php Cela ne vous prendra que quelques secondes.

SI LE PARLEMENT FAIT AVORTER LE PROJET DE LOI SUR LE DROIT ÉGAL AU MARIAGE, NOS OPPOSANTS NE S'ARRÊTERONT PAS LÀ. ILS TENTERONT EN EFFET D'APPORTER DES MODIFICATIONS CONSTITUTIONNELLES À L'AMÉRICAINE, CE QUI REPRÉSENTERA UN RECUL CERTAIN.

Il se peut qu'il y ait une élection prochainement. Auparavant toutefois, il y aura le vote de mardi. Il se peut que ce soit la dernière fois que le Parlement tienne un vote sur le droit égal au mariage. Faisons en sorte que ce vote soit un événement positif et que les membres du Parlement sachent que nombre de leurs électrices et électeurs appuient le droit égal au mariage.

Veuillez nous aider aujourd'hui. Ne tardez pas. Veuillez aussi transmettre le présent message à vos connaissances et amis.

Le temps presse. Veuillez agir dès maintenant.

Laurie Arron
Coordonnateur politique
Canadiens et Canadiennes pour le droit égal au mariage



CANADIANS FOR EQUAL MARRIAGE: ACTION ALERT

The first vote on the government's Equal Marriage Bill (Bill C-38) has been set for Tuesday, April 12. It's a vote on Stephen Harper's motion to kill the bill. WE MUST WIN THIS VOTE OR THE MARRIAGE BILL WILL DIE!

We have a small lead in the vote count, but there are dangers. Will all supportive MPs show up to vote? Will the four supportive Conservative MPs dare to vote against their leader's motion?

Canadians for Equal Marriage urges you to contact your MP today! Go to http://www.equal-marriage.ca Go to Step 1 and E-mail all MPs. At Step 1 you can also find your MP and get their phone and fax numbers. Simply tell them you support equal marriage, you support Bill C-38.

Opponents of equality for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are pulling out all the stops before the final vote. Today, Saturday, April 9, tens of thousands of opponents held their "March for Marriage and Freedom" on Parliament Hill. Stephen Harper himself addressed the crowd! He told people "if just a few more Liberals can be persuaded to change their vote, we can kill Bill C-38 in its tracks."

We're bracing for a storm of opposition messages flooding MPs' offices between now and Tuesday. It's important that MPs hear from our side too!!

We have the opportunity to settle this issue once and for all. But we can only win this fight with your help. Please contact your MP today. You can e-mail all MPs at
http://www.equal-marriage.ca/contactcampaign.php . It only takes a few seconds.

IF PARLIAMENT KILLS THE EQUAL MARRIAGE LEGISLATION, OUR OPPONENTS WILL CONTINUE WITH FURTHER ATTEMPTS -- EVEN U.S.-STYLE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS -- TO ROLL BACK THE CLOCK.

Today, on Parliament Hill, Stephen Harper once again pledged to bring in legislation to define marriage as a man and a woman.

We all know an election may be called soon. But before any election call will be Tuesday's vote. It may be the last time Parliament votes on equal marriage. Let's make it a positive one!! Let's ensure MPs know that many of their constituents support equal marriage.

Please help today. Don't delay. Please also pass this message on to your friends and your networks.

This is a crucial time. Please take action now.

When it rains...

Some of you might not know this, but I was diagnosed with Asthma when I was a teenager. I never really worried about it, and I never had any serious attacks that I was not able to manage with simple Ventalin or Bricanyl inhalers. Well, all that changed last week.

Since the middle of February, I have been having various degrees of problems with my Asthma, but I was able to carry on with my daily life. But it got progressively worse. And Friday at 3am I found myself admitted at the Royal Victoria Hospital for what they diagnosed as an "Asthma Crisis". At 5am I was transfered from the Emergency Room to the Emergency Acute Care. I was on oxygene and getting Ventalin treatments through a mask. I had so many that at one point I felt high as a kite. Then they pumped me full of pills, gave me a chest x-ray and kept on monitoring me. Finally, my lungs were clear around Noon and I was discharged after seeing a lung specialist. I am now on Cortizone, and have a few puffers. I feel much better than I did before but my lungs are really week and I can't tolerate any irritants right now without scrambling to puff on my Bricanyl.

And I have one thing to say about the Royal Victoria Hospital: EWWW GROSS.!!

So, there was blood on the floor in the examining room I was in. Not too mention there was a tube filled with blood lying around next to my examining table. The floor was dirty. The Bio-waste bin also had blood on it. There was 1 nurse and 1 Doctor on duty when I got in. As I came in 3 ambulances pulled in. So. Talk to me about the ailing medical system in Québec. Its really pathetic.

Another great thing. When I arrived at the ER I was in such serious respitory distress I could barely speak a single word without taking a breath. I was weezing heavily and coughing constantly. So, I am directed to triage Nurse. Well, the triage nurse was outside smoking! So he (yes a male nurse) comes in to "triage" me, and he WREAKS of cigarettes. Do I need to explain that cigarette smoke is one of the BIGGEST irratants for asthmatics? I really don't understand how they can put a smoker in charge of meeting triage patients. I was not the only asthmatic who was rushed in that night, so I'm assuming this happens often enough. So here I am trying to communicate to my nurse what the problem is, but being in the same room as he, is making my breathing worse. *GRUMBLE*

Anyway. I`m fine now. Well, I'm better. I won`t be running any triathlons this week, but hopefully all will fall into place very soon.

The Wait Is OVER!!!!!!!!!

If I was religious, I would be praising the Lord. But I`m not. So I won't. But oh man oh man, am I ever happy that the wait is over. But what was I waiting for? What has me so excited that I was jumping up and down and screaming at the top of my lungs all by myself earlier today? What could possibly be so exciting that I started bashing in all the buttons on my telephone to call everyone I knew. (And of course, nobody answered their bloody phone)

Well. Its simple. I, Gabriel Robichaud, starting this coming Monday, will no longer be a welfare case. That's right. I will be dropping my Unemployment Checks for an actual PAY CHECK, because, I have been offered a job. OH JOY OH BLISS OH YEAH!

I do not have the details of the job just yet, because I will be meeting with Human Resources very soon, but I will be working with Oracle Database for a Pharmaceutical Company! Permanent Position. Full Time. Lots and Lots of benefits. YEEE HA!

Auf Deutsch, Bitte!

Heute schreibe ich eine kleines Blog auf Deutsch. Warum nicht? Nachsten Monat, ich beginne eine Deutschekurse an die Goethe Institute in Montreal. Ich kann nicht mehr warten! Sprachen machen viel spass für mich.

Ich denke dass es Zeit jetz fur meine erste Reise nach Deutschland ist. Ich möchte nach München in September gehen. Dort kann ich eine intensive Deutschkurse machen. Und, kann ich in einem Studentenwohnheim wohnen. Fur 2 wochen, das kostet nur 1200 Euros.

Also, genug für Heute. Bis später!

Wi-fi, wi-fi, where for art thou wi-fi?

Where in Montreal Can you get Free Wi-fi? Good Question. I will attempt to answer that question in the coming months. So, you may stay tuned to figure out this important question.

So far, I have discovered 3 wi-fi hot-spots that are free. I refuse to pay for wi-fi access in a coffee shop. I figure I'm already paying for food and drinks, so why should I pay for internet access when I already have it at home? So, I am going to add a new section to the blog. As I discover more wi-fi hot spots in Montreal, I will make that list available on http://wifimtl.gabrielrobichaud.com. Feel free to email me if you feel you know of a cool hotspot that should be on the list.

<insert title here>

Don't you hate it when you can't find an appropriate title for your blog articles? Oh well. If you don't like, tough.

It feels so good to be back to blogging. I am happy to entertain you people sitting at work pretending to work. (he he he) You know how you are. Certain people in Ottawa. Certain civil servants. Wasting my hard earned tax dollars. I smell a scandal!!

So. Today's blog is brought to you from the Second Cup on the corner of Milton and Parc in Montreal. Yes yes. The combination of free wi-fi and 1.55$ for a blueberry tisane is all you need to sit here for hours and waste bandwidth.

So what has been going on. Well to all of you who have been asking if I have found a job... The answer is.... A BIG... RESOUNDING.... (wait for it)..... Are you excited yet?....... NO NO NO NO NO.*sigh* Still no job. A few leads. But don't hold your breath.

So that takes care of that.

So, when I'm not scouring the web looking for the perfect employer, I try to keep myself busy. I just got back from a one week stint in Québec City. No, there are no jobs there either. There is my brother however. He is studying film at Université de Laval and he is having the time of his life... NOT! Oh my god. What a boring city. Its a lot like Ottawa, except its colder, has more snow and, unlike Ottawa where they roll up the sidewalks at 6pm, they roll up the sidewalks at 4:30pm in Québec. Oh, its very pretty there, so if you want to look at pretty buildings and soak up some history, you should really go to Québec City. But don't go for the night life or the cultural diversity because you will be in for the shock of you life! I did, however, star in my brother's latest film project. Some work in sound design for a class he did. Woo hooo, I'm a star.

Oh.. and for those who need to know the innermost details of my personal life, (why, I will never understand) James and I have taken the big plunge. Yup Yup. We are now domiciled at the same address. So, quit asking when we will be moving together, its been done. Its going well, I am very happy. Of course I am. Have you guys seen him? MMM MMMM good!

Do not expect an invitation to the housewarming because we are not going to have one but feel free to send presents, money or credit cards. We love presents ;)

So, that's it for today. I must go back to my Pimsleur German now.

New Sub-Domain, New Host, Hackers and Blogging.

Well folks, let me start by saying that not all web hosting services are created equal. Thankfully there are a lot more hosting services who provide Coldfusion funcionality than there was 18 months ago. You will see why in a second. I appologize for not writing more during the past couple of months, but I was no longer in a position to trust the server that my Blog was hosted on. So, I began the long hunt for the cheap webhosting provider, that will actually protect me against hack attacks. Yes my friends, my web hosting account was hacked! Someone even changed a lot of the pages on my website for some bogus crap. See, I can understand how these things happens, microsoft has some pretty serious vulnerabilities in their operating systems.

That hosting company (Webserve Canada Inc. http://www.webserve.ca) did not notify that they were under attack. They also failed to answer my questions on why I was not notified when they noticed the intrusion, and why they were not able to explain to me what measures they took to prevent future attacks. So. I moved my website to a much better provider in the USA. Yeah yeah, my money is going to some money grubbing USA corporation, but I don't care at this point. I just want something that works, that is secure and will give me some control over my my site. Oh we wont talk about the hell it was to cancel my account at Webserve, shaddy credit card billing practices, etc, etc. My new provider takes Paypal.

That, is nice. Paypal is the future my friends. If you don't know what Paypal is or what its for, click on over to Paypal.

Another change, as you can notice, the blog is now part of its own subdomain. You may now and forever, access the blog at the "blog" subdomain of gabrielrobihaud.com as follows: http://blog.gabrielrobichaud.com. This will permit me to leave www.gabrierobichaud.com for some other projects I have in mind. For next couple of months, there will be an automatic redirection to the blog when you access it via the old address. So update your bookmakrs.

I have disabled the mailing list feature for now. I will be creating another one soon however, I just need to change some things around before making it available again.

So stay tuned. I will be fine tuning the site in the next few days, and we will then resume our regularly scheduled blogging.

RIP : Louis-J. Robichaud 1925-2005

Ave Maris Stella,
Dei Mater Alma,
Atque Semper Virgo
Felix Coeli Porta (bis)

The Acadian National athem was being sung as I watched the remains of the right honnerable Louis J. Robichaud being transported out of the Assumption Cathedral in Moncton NB. By the magic of television, I was able to attend the funeral service, and remember, with the rest of NB and Canada, the greatness of a legacy left by a simple acadian man, whose vision was simple: equality for all.

Thanks to "p'tit" Louis, as he was called, NB has a french university, a billingual education system and billingual services for all citizen of NB.

Louis, you'll be missed dearly.

600 resumes later, the ants have finally left. Now I shall make Perogies!!

Apparently, the IT industry is picking up. Yup. That's what they are saying! Well, someone should tell that to the HR people who are blatantly ignoring my resume. I can`t wait to get some of that momentum the IT Industry is supposedly experiencing. I lost count after 200, but I am pretty certain I must have sent over 600 resumes. Hell, I am so desperate right now, I am even applying for jobs as a simple SQL Programmer.

However, curiosity has gotten the best of me, and recently I applied to NavCanada to become an Air Traffic Controller. *shiver* I figured after working at IATA, I can handle any stress anyone can throw at me. I have my first part of the selection process tomorrow, Thursday. I will be attending a 4 hour long aptitude test. So cross your fingers everyone, this job actually pays money (as opposed to peanuts).

I know, I know. There is no rush. I still have over 6 months of EI left. (For those who don`t know, EI is the the bi-weekly checks I receive from the government because I got laid off last august. I paid into the EI system for over 14 years. Trust me, my bi-weekly checks do not take that into consideration.) So, I have to stretch my meager earnings into somewhat of a life.

And there is something to be said about not doing anything all day. It gets old. Quick. I am so bored sometimes, I get on my own nerves. My apartment, although I am not there as much as you might suspect, has never been this clean. Ever. The ants have moved out. There is not a single ant to be seen. I think I finally vacuumed the last one out. My mother told me to sprinkle pepper around to kill them. I think that helped. Thanks mommy.

Oh by the way...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! BOY YOU ARE OLD NOW :)

HEHEHEHEHEHEH

So, what else is going on. Well, as I have mentioned in a previous blog entry, I started swimming again. THANK GOD. Well, actually, I should thank my friend Ryan who called me one day to see if I wanted to go swimming with him. Well, next thing I new, I was back into the swing of things. I have lost 10 pounds in a bit over 2 weeks. Woo hoo.

Our curling club is officially well into its activities. My curling team is doing well still! We are currently in 4th place in our league. That is fantastic, 3 wins 2 losses and 1 tie game. I am very happy with our performance, mind you if our skip would actually have a curling percentage over 10% for a change, we might do better. Lately I have seen my curling game improve greatly. I managed to throw, successfully, a tap back, a double take-out and a triple take-out. I am very impressed. At this rate, I will be at the Bryer in no time! :)

So, only 18 more days till xmas is over. Thank God. I will not be going to NB this year, as my financial situation will not permit me such frivolous expenses. I came to this decision recently. But I think it will be nice to have some time in Montreal with James anyway. I actually like walking around Montreal, downtown, on Christmas day. Things are quiet, nice and relaxed.

Oh.. And just one more thing: A Recipe for Perogies.

Ingredients
2 tb Butter
1 Onion; sliced
Sour cream


---------------DOUGH--------------------
3 c Flour;all purpose
1 1/2 ts -salt
1 Egg
3/4 c -water, approx.
4 ts Vegetable oil


--------------FILLING-------------------
1 tb Butter
1/3 c Onion; finely chopped
1 c Potatoes; cold mashed
3/4 c Cheddar cheese; shredded
1/2 ts -salt
1/4 ts -pepper

Instructions
1. DOUGH: In bowl, combine flour with salt. Beat together egg, water and oil; stir into flour mixture to make soft but not sticky dough that holds together in a ball. If necessary, add 1 Tbsp more water at a time, being careful not to make dough sticky. Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead about 10 times or till smooth. Halve dough, cover with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let rest for 20 minutes.

2. FILLING: Meanwhile in skillet, heat butter over medium heat, cook onion for 3 to 5 minutes or till tender. Transfer to a bowl, add mix in potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper. Working with one portion of the dough at a time, and keeping the remaining dough covered, roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/16" thickness. Using 3 inch round cutter, cut dough into rounds. Place 1 tsp filling on each round. Lightly moisten edge of one half of dough with water, pinch edges together to seal and crimp attractively. Place on cloth; cover with damp cloth to prevent drying out. Repeat with remaining portion of dough.

3. In large pot of boiling salted water, cook perogies in batches, for 1 1/2 hr to 2 minutes or till they float to top, stirring gently to prevent perogies from sticking together or to bottom of pan. With slotted spoon remove to colander to drain. In large heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat, cook onion for about 5 minutes till golden. Add perogies and toss to coat and warm through. Serve with sour cream.

MAKES ABOUT 30 PEROGIES.

Variations: Cottage Cheese: Combine 1 cup press cottage cheese, 1 beaten egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1 Tbsp chopped green onion. Mushroom: In skillet, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat, cook 3 cups chopped mushrooms and 1/3 cup finely chopped onion for 7 to 9 minutes or until moisture has evaporated. Remove from heat; stir in 1 egg yolk and 1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source:_Canadian Living's Country Cooking_by Elizabeth Baird posted by Anne MacLellan

Jack`s the man.

As you all remember, I recently emailed ALL members of parliament regarding the same-sex marriage bill. Today, I received an answer from Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP party of Canada. Here is what he had to say:

Layton, Jack - M.P. Dec 2
Dear Friend;

Thank you for contacting me about the Private Member's legislation, Bill C-268, calling for marriage to be restricted to opposite-sex couples.

I would like to assure you that the federal NDP views this issue as one of equality rights. Our election platform under the heading, Respecting Equality, clearly supports extending civil marriage to same-sex couples. It states:

Recognizing the equality of loving adult partnerships by extending civil marriage equality to same-sex couples, while respecting each religion's right to determine its own definition of marriage. (A Positive Choice)

Once again, thank you for writing. I am hopeful we will continue to agree to defend the interests of all Canadians.

Sincerely,

Jack Layton, MP for Toronto-Danforth
Leader - New Democratic Party of Canada
www.ndp.ca

I Smell Burned Toast

Well, I love ebay. Apparently, some idiot, while making toast one morning, saw the virgin Mary in his bread. Sold it on ebay. Wow. I wish I had that kind of toaster. He also claims uppon seeing the image, he felt a calmness fall on him. Yeah... very nice.

See this for yourself

Oh... and there is a website that keeps track of groups who make it easy for crazy christians to congregate. Click here to visit!

Gay Civil Rights

There is currently a private member's bill in Parliament, trying to make same-sex marraiges ilegal in Canada. So in response, I sent the following email to all Members of Parliament:

Letter to all Members of Parliament

-----Original Message-----
From: gabrielrobichaud
Sent: Mon 22/11/2004 1:59 PM
To: Williams, John - Riding 1
Cc:
Subject: Equal Marriage - Bill C-268.

I'm writing to express my opposition to Private Members' Bill C-268, which would restrict civil marriage to opposite-sex couples. This bill is unconstitutional and un-Canadian.

Canadians overwhelmingly support Charter values like inclusion, human dignity, mutual respect and freedom from political or social prejudice.

For many Canadians, both gay and straight, marriage is a profoundly meaningful way to demonstrate love and commitment. Denying anyone that choice is simply not fair. Same-sex couples should have the freedom to marry in a civil ceremony and to have that marriage legally recognized, and religious communities should have the freedom to perform or not perform such marriages.

Please let me know where you stand on this human rights issue.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Robichaud

---

And, to my surprise, i got an answer for a very conservative MP. :

Answer from an MP

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 13:06:39 -0500, Williams, John - Riding 1 wrote:
Thank you for your email and I appreciate knowing your perspective regarding same-sex marriage.

Since time immemorial all societies have recognized the union of a man and a woman, celebrated the union and called it marriage. In modern society, where anything goes, a relationship does not need to be defined as a marriage. I believe, however, the institution of marriage should be preserved as the legal and religious union of a man and woman to the exclusion of all others, and if people want to enter into some other kind of relationship they can find some other name to call it, but it is not marriage.


The decisions of a number of provincial courts to re-define marriage to include gay and lesbian couples ignores a decision of Parliament in 1999, when Members of Parliament voted 216 - 55 in favour of a motion holding that marriage should remain the union of one man and one woman. Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister of the day, Martin Cauchon, the then Justice Minister, and Paul Martin all voted in favour of the motion at the time, although all three changed their position to endorse same sex marriage.

The Liberal Government made a grave error in judgment by choosing not to appeal recent court decisions that legalize same-sex marriage. As a result of the failure by the Liberals to appeal the court decisions redefining marriage to include homosexual couples, gay marriage is now already the law in Ontario and B.C., and may soon become the law in most of Canada.

The most recent proposal by the Liberal Government to refer draft legislation to the Supreme Court of Canada does not negate the fact that the Liberal Government has abandoned the democratic process and allowed an unelected, unaccountable court to define marriage, when that decision is the purview of Parliament alone. Any subsequent promise by the Liberals of a "free vote" in Parliament on that legislation, does not in any way change that reality. The proposal to hold a "free vote" in Parliament is only a communications exercise to try to hide the fact that they have allowed un-elected judges to make the laws of our country.

My Conservative colleagues and I are also disappointed that several months' worth of work done by the House of Commons Justice Committee on the issue of same sex marriage has been rendered irrelevant by the Liberal Government's failure to appeal the recent court rulings. Although the then Justice Minister, Martin Cauchon asked the Justice Committee to travel the country and hear representations on same-sex marriage from all walks of life, he did not wait for the committee to produce its report before making a decision on this matter. The voices of Canadians who submitted briefs and made oral representations to the committee have effectively been silenced by this un-democratic process.

Canadians should be outraged by the Liberal Government's slight against democracy, and the failure by this government to keep its promise to Canadians to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others. The Conservative Party will continue to call upon the Liberal Government to keep its promise to Canadians to preserve the traditional definition of marriage.

I appreciate your perspective that a majority in society should not trample upon the rights of a minority. However, I do not agree that it is an issue of human rights since a human right is an inalienable right for all people, at all times. For example, no one should be discriminated against because of their colour at any time, at any age, or under any circumstances. Protection from discrimination because of one's colour is a human right.

Marriage is not a human right, because there are many people in this country who would want to marry and who have no recourse to the law in order to do so. We also do not allow young people who are under the age of majority to marry. We do not allow siblings to marry. We do not allow parents and their children to marry. Therefore, marriage is not an inalienable right and therefore it is not a human right.

I believe that it is appropriate that we have some other words to define the relationships that are emerging and acquiesced to by our society, other than putting it all under an umbrella of marriage.

Yours truly,

John G. Williams

Member of Parliament

To which i promptly replied

Hello and thank you for taking the time to respond.

I woud like to point out that your logic is flawed. Should you wish to preserve the "sanctatity" of religious marriages, as you described it, that is fine. I do not think "homosexuals" or people as we prefer to be called, are trying to change your view of marriage. You are entitled to it, and if you wish to religiously keep that, good for you. What we want is equlaity under the law. Just like black people did in the 20th century. We seek legal marriage. Do whatever you want in your religion, its your business. God teaches us to love, as he gave us a new commandment before he died "love one another". It is not your job to judge people, or limit legal statutes on the basis of sexual orientation. Remember that is also stipulated in the Bible that God will judge as you have judged others.

Furthermore, marriage was not historically always a religious ceremony. It only became so in a few centuries ago. So using the "sanctictity of marriage" as a sword to battle against civil rights of the most basic nature is a shame. Specialy with a divorce rate of 50%, and climbing. What is your next step to save the sanctity of marriage? Ban divorce perhaps? Divorce is, after all, a sin according to most Christians! Hell must be a pretty big place since so many people will be going there.

Seperation of State and Church means let gay people marry each other and stop propagating hate, bias and self-righteous, self-serving omnipotent opinions

Thank God the liberal government was there not to oppose the high court ruling. And if you truly care about people, civli-rights and humanity, you won't either.

Sincerly,
Gabriel Robichaud

Please visit http://www.equal-marriage.ca to fight hate and anti-gay legislation!

What do YOU do in your car at 2 am?

I love Montreal. I mean, only in our fabulous city, at 2 am, can you park your car on a deserted street in the "McGill Ghetto", recline your seat, and unbutton your pants as your girlfriend puts on a fresh coat of lipstick in preparation of pleasing you... Well at least that's what I saw on my way home from James' place the other night.

I have come to learn that Montreal is being heralded as Canada's sin-city, and that, is a good thing. I am glad that I do not live in some right wing land, where your business is not only your own, but your neighbor's. Oh, and the best part about the auto-felacio (felacio in an automobile, not the other kind) is that 100 meters away, in a parking lot, stood 6 cops. I wouldn't be surprised if they were smoking pot.

I learned today that the right wing Fox News is coming to Canada on cable TV. Oh great! Another source of crap. Approximately 80% of views of Fox News think that Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction and that Sadam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are allies. Oh... geez... I guess that explains how Bush won his election, since Fox News had the highest ratings of any other American news source. So, here is how it works in the land of the free: 1. Bush says nonsense to reports. 2. Fox networks propagates the nonsense and enhances it (more TV friendly). 3. American White Bread right Wing Republicans watch nonsense and gobble it up without question. 4. Bush re-elected.

Bravo. I would like to extend my congratulations to president Bush! Another four years of watching the blind leading the blind, and now we can watch it on Fox News! As if CNN wasn't bad enough!

Its the most wonderful time of the year....

*puke*

I hate winter.

There I said it. It's out of my system. I will not say again until next year. I will not talk about the lack of sunlight, the cold, the snow, the sleet, the cold, the snow, the cold or the freezing cold. No I won't.

Instead, I will head on down to the Royal Montreal Curling Club for my 2nd season of curling. I have a brand new team(left to right) : Me, Normand, Michael and Francois. So far we have played three games, and we have a record of 1-1-1, if you look at the standings, we are currently in 7th place. We are team Boucher N. as Normand is the skip. The third will either be Francois or me, we will figure that out next week.

I will be organizing another Funspiel this year for people who have never curled before, or for people who have curled very rarely! If you are interested in participating click on the Email Me link on the right!

Tah tah!

50 Fun things to do in an elevator.

About 10 years ago, when the internet was almost void of viruses and spam, I used to get email forwards that were so funny it I would find myself laughing out loud, all by myself, in the computer lab at St-Thomas Univerisy (Fredericton, NB, Canada). This following one, still cracks me up.

1. Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off.
2. Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex to other passengers.
3. Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering: "Shut up, dammit, all of you just shut UP!"
4. Whistle the first seven notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly.
5. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
6. On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of the elevator.
7. Shave.
8. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: "Got enough air in there?"
9. Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear yours upside-down.
10. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
11. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
12. Lean over to another passenger and whisper: "Noogie patrol coming!"
13. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral.
14. One word: Flatulence!
15. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open until you hear the penny you dropped down the shaft go "plink" at the bottom.
16. Do Tai Chi exercises.
17. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: "I've got new socks on!"
18. When at least 8 people have boarded, moan from the back: "Oh, not now, damn motion sickness!"
19. Give religious tracts to each passenger.
20. Meow occasionally.
21. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
22. Frown and mutter "gotta go, gotta go" then sigh and say "oops!"
23. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
24. Sing "Mary had a little lamb" while continually pushing buttons.
25. Holler "Chutes away!" whenever the elevator descends.
26. Walk on with a cooler that says "human head" on the side.
27. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
28. Burp, and then say "mmmm...tasty!"
29. Leave a box between the doors.
30. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
31. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers "through" it.
32. Start a sing-along.
33. When the elevator is silent, look around and ask "is that your beeper?"
34. Play the harmonica.
35. Shadow box.
36. Say "Ding!" at each floor.
37. Lean against the button panel.
38. Say "I wonder what all these do" and push the red buttons.
39. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
40. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your "personal space."
41. Bring a chair along.
42. Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: "Wanna see wha in muh mouf?"
43. Blow spit bubbles.
44. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
45. Announce in a demonic voice: "I must find a more suitable host body."
46. Carry a blanket and clutch it protectively.
47. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
48. Wear "X-Ray Specs" and leer suggestively at other passengers.
49. Stare at your thumb and say "I think it's getting larger."
50. If anyone brushes against you, recoil and holler "Bad touch!"

Linux, Linux, where for art thou linux?

Well, I finally did it. I have been saying I will do it for a long time now. But, I have hat it with security holes, corporate shananigans, monopoly and shaddy software. So, in the garbage can went my Windows XP partition.

I no longer have windows, or any Micro$oft product, installed on my laptop! I am currently running with the penguins! (The penguin is the official Linux animal.) For those of you who are a little liss software oriented, let me explain a little bit about Linux. It is based upon the Unix operating system. It is an operating system, just like Microsoft Windows XP, NT, etc. Except one small difference, Linux is free. How is that possible? Software is so expensive. Well, not when it is develepped as open source. This means the source is available for anyone to download for free. Not only that, if you dont like something about the software (or in the case of Linux itself, the operating system), you can download the source and change it through a complete sweet of programming tools. Yes, the tools are free also. What? Oh, it gest better. Linux, once installed, is ready to be used. It comes with a 3 different versions of office software, (compatible with Microsoft Office documents) completely free. Free email software. Free games. Free tools. Free servers. Free development environments. Free databases. Free compilers. If Linux was a kitchen, it would also make coffee... for free. How is this possible? Oh, and did I mention that the security features that come with Linux can turn your computer into a virtual Fort Knox.

Linux would not have been possible without the work started by Richard Stallman in 1984 from MIT. He developped a buch of applications that he called GNU (for GNU is Not Unix). These included a C compiler and libraries. Without GNU Linux would not have been possible. The GNU tools initially ran on Unix and made for a free alternative to compilers that were available commercially. These gained rapid popularity as they were open source and quickly gaining functionnality through an international group of programmers excited at the idea of robust, reliable and scalable free software. Then, in the 1990's, man named Linus Torvald thought it would be a great idea to continue this idea and build an entire operating system in open source.

Fast forward to the year 2004. There numerous Linux distributions available, Red Hat, Mandrake, Slackware, Suse, Edulinux, Gentoo and the list goes on and on. There are almost as many distribuitions as there are uses for them.

The two most populare distributions on the market right now are Red Hat Fedora (Core 2), and Mandrake Community 10.1. You can download them freely from their respective websites. Both of these install pretty much by themselves, I found the installation process to be simpler than installing microsoft. Each site will provide detailed installation instructions. And if you do encounter a problem, there are numerous website forums and mailing lists that will provide quick and easy reference to fix whatever issue might arise. A lot of the time, you can even email the programmer who built the application to see if he can help (and they will respond, the Linux community is very friendly and helpfull).

So it is all really that great? Well, yes an no. Yes, because I don't have to be worried about security all that much anymore. As long as I keep my distrobution up to date and hide behind a firewall, I am pretty safe. Specially since the threat of getting a virus is almost zero with linux. Most viruses these days are writen for Mac or Windows and will not affect Linux/Unix systems. It is also great because I find software to do almost everything I want for free. Its also great because I can run servers right off my machine, without installing extra software. Servers like email servers, ftp servers, web servers etc. You can do so with windows also, but be prepared to shell out TONS OF MONEY. Linux = free. Also, Linux takes a lot less resources from your processor to run, so expect a better performance from Linux than you would from other currently available.

But there is a downside. Not all hardware components are supported by Linux. After an entire week of running Linux, I have not figured out how to get my Wi-Fi card to work, but everything else, digital camera, sound card, video, ethernet card, cd burner, dvd player and mouse all worked with NO extra configuration. Oh, and did i mention I am running all of this on a laptop? Phenomenal. Another thing, there are some specific Microsoft things that you will not be able to do. Forget about visiting any specific websites such as MSN.COM who work exclusively on Internet Explorer. And you can forget about playing the latest computer games on Linux. But you can always keep a seperate partition on your hard drive and boot into the other operating system if you have special needs that cannot be met by Linux. (I suggest to any beginner to have 2 partitions, 1 for yoru current OS and one for Linux.)

But what about me? I am running Mac OS X Panther. Well guess what: you are already running Linux. *gasp* You don't have to do anything to take advantage of the Linux open source community. You just need to do a bit of reading. Apple, in a brilliant move, released its last OS on top of a LINUX kernel. More details are available on the Apple website.

I suggest to you all, to do a bit of research on Google and find out more about Linux.

Do not be scared to email me your questions if you do want to give Linux a test drive.

Be warned, Linux is not Windows. It is an operating system that is built by nerds for nerds. But as it continues to evolve, it is becoming simple enough to be used for desktop users and home PCs.

Willy? Willy who?

Willy, Wilfred Laurier of course! The first French-Canadian Prime-Minister who served from 1896 to 1911. Whats so special about him? Well, for one thing, you can find him on every 5$ bill in Canada. Big Deal! Well, believe it or not, the other day I got a very special 5$ bill in my change, from my Lays Barbecue Chips purchase. There was a website URL on the front of my bill : http://www.whereswilly.com.

The internet has become a strange place. This website, whereswilly.com, is a website that tracks movements of different dollar bills. So you can plug in your bills' serial number and then watch the report of how far the bills have travelled. I saw one bill that had accumulated over 4000km!

So, my friends, venture on out :

One Month Later

It has been one month today that I got my lay off from the consulting firm. I must have sent out close to 200 resumes in the past month trying to find a job. Not an easy task. But now that I am all set up, it only takes a few minutes a day to post 10 or 20 cvs. I do some reasearch and see what else is available out there, but so far I have managed to snag 1 interview. That interview is tomorrow morning. Wish me luck, because I could really use a decent pay.

I also found out today that I have successfully completed my Post-Graduate Certificate in Management, and am therefore admitted into the Master's Degree of E-Commerce programme. This programme starts next week, so I need to find a job soon, or else I will not be able to attend. So people, I need your positive vibes, and lots of them.

The big 3 0... it can only get worse!!!

Argh. So, last week was the big 3 0 !!! And nothing happened. I mean really, nothing happened. The sky didn't fall, there was no appocalypse, low and behold, I am still alive today, 5 days later.

I celebrated my birthday at Chris and Dion's place. Their regular wednesday night soirée was vegetarian (my choice) and was centered around the fact that 4 us have birthdays either on september 8th or september 9th. Wow. Well cudoes to Chris and Dion for keeping my mind busy while I wait for James to come home from Peru.

James has been in Peru now for over two weeks and I am going insane keeping my mind busy. It wouldn`t be so bad had it not been for my previous job. Yes, you heard me previous. I was hired on with promise of success and career growth to basically be let go 4 months later on the grounds they suck at drumming up business and cannont manage their clients appropriately. I will not point the figure at who I think is responsible for my current job situation, but needless to say, it is not my fault nor SMG`s if I was standing in line at the unemployment office.

So, lets recap :

• loose job


• boyfriend leaves for Peru for 3 weeks


• Turn 30 *gasp*


• no idea what to do with my life at this point

The funny thing about all this is that I told James a few weeks ago that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. That it was just too good to be true. I had my dream job, doing my master's degree, boyfriend, blah blah. Well the shoe dropeth.

I am so sick and tired of having this happen to me. Every couple of years its the same story. I go from sitting on top of the world to scraping the bottom of the barrel. If I hear from one more person :"oh you'll find something, don't worry..."

I know all you well wishers are well intentionned, but, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT. The fact remains that life is just a big cosmic joke. You spend your life working, working to the bone, to make sure you can keep your idiotic job and some moron, who is more concerned with his profit margins than human life, hands you a pink slip with a big smile saying "Oh, I tried!". Well, I hope this moron is enjoying his 1 million dollar house and his yacht not to mention his RV and luxuery vehicle that he puts in a company paid parking spot every morning. Maybe when he gets of his car tomorrow he can assign himself more stock options. Hey, asshole, I have a bike that I can't even offord to change the tires anymore, can I have a job, please?

So, there I am this afternoon, standing at the unemployment line, registering for my employment assistance check. Welfare. Thats what my bloody life has come down to, government assistance. I have been to funerals that were more fun than the line at the unemployment office. Looking around at the people in the room just made me feel worse. Everyone looking desperate contrasted against me trying to look suave and debonnair. Actually, I was just trying not to go postal.

When I was a kid, slaving away on my family's farm in the smothering heat feeling my skin fry under the July sun, I always kept my hopes up. I knew that one day I would work in an office tower, on a floor so high up that it would have a beautiful view of the city.

So, is there hope? Well, James is cutting his trip to Peru short, thank god, he'll be back tomorrow night. I started applying for jobs today. I applied for about 10 of them this evening. With any luck, i'll be off the couch and in a downtown office tower sooner than later. My application for employment insurance is complete and with any luck the checks will start rolling in 4 weeks.

Je me souviens... part deux!

Pour donner suite aux articles concernant le Québec...

J'ai eu une réponse de monsieur X, et il s'est dévoilé! A sa demande, je poste sa lettre ici. Mais je n'y répondrai pas. Je crois que sa lettre parle assez d'elle-même. J'ai pas envie de faire un forum politique avec mon blogue, mais je crois qu'il est important de donner une chance à Cédric de clarifier son point de vue.

Deplus, j'inclu quelques commentaires d'autres lecteurs!

merci!
Gabriel

Voici la réponse de Cédric:

Eh oui, c'est moi le "disgruntled french canadian". Étant donné que le blog ne nous permet plus de répondre directement aux messages, nous devons discuter par email.

Naturellement, mes commentaires ne pourront etre sur le blog pour me défendre (a moins que tu choisisses de les mettre).

tu as écris:

"Je devine que tu es Québécois. Alors, tu es sûrement né ici. Tu n'as eu aucun choix dans ta langue, ta nation, tes origines, c'est un concours de circonstances auquel tu n'y es pour rien. Par contre, j'ai choisi de m'installer au Québec. Pour sa langue, pour sa culture, pour son peuple, pour sa nation. Mon côté curieux voulait venir comprendre pourquoi un peuple de gens si choyé semblait si insatisfait."

Cela prouve que les gens de l'extérieur ne connaissent pas vraiment le Québec.. car le peuple est loin d'etre "insatisfait". Les gens qui pronent l'indépendance n'en veulent pas tous aux anglais ou au reste du Canada. En fait, la plupart respectent totalement le Canada anglais... mais c'est un pays différent.

Ensuite vous avez dit:

"Premièrement, votre arrogance ne dissimule pas vos complexes. Deuxièmement, je comprends que le Québec est une nation."

Si tu comprends que le Québec est une nation, pourquoi t'avoir choqué lorsque tu as vu que le parc du Mont Tremblant était un "parc national"? c'est pas logique.

ensuite:

"C'est clair. Ce que je n'accepte pas, c'est l'association de facto pour pays, que semble prôner un certain groupe. J'ai dit dans mon blogue : "You are not a country". Je n'ai jamais nié le statut de nation. étant moi-même issue d'une nation qui n'a pas de frontières, je peux comprendre que la nation se vit dans l'âme."

effectivement, le Québec n'est pas un pays. Pas encore.

Ensuite tu a "quoté" un paragraphe en ajoutant des "sic" et en m'accusant de faire des fautes de grammaire et d'orthographe. Je concède que j'ai écris le texte rapidement et que les fautes de grammaire sont présentes, mais les fautes d'orthographes elles? SVP me les indiquer, ca m'aiderait grandement. :) J'en ai peut etre manqué quelques unes... Voici le paragraphe en question:

"Un peu après vous dites : "Tu mentionnes les "basic human rights". Dis moi(sic) une chose... si tu vas habiter en Suède, vas tu(sic) juste t'attendre a(sic) ce que tout le monde parlent(sic) l'anglais, ou bien tu vas(sic) apprendre le suédois? Meme(sic) chose ici au Québec. Tu veux vivre ici, parle francais(sic). On ne peut conserver la langue si on ne la parle pas et si on s'assimile. Bien sur, étant acadien, on ne peut s'attendre de toi que le francais (sic) soit important ou bien que tu ne soit (sic) pas assimilé.""

Continuons...

"Oui si je vais habiter en Suède j'apprendrai le suédois. C'est normal. Par contre, est-ce que les autorités suédoises vont m'empêcher de mettre des affiches dans mon magasin, en anglais, même si c'est une propriété privée? Est-ce que les autorités vont rendre illégale l'envoi de mes enfants dans une école anglaise parce que je ne suis pas moi-même allé dans une école anglophone?"

Mon exemple n'était pas bon.. car la Suède n'a pas le taux d'immigration que le Canada a. C'est facile (juste en prenant comme exemple Montréal) de réaliser que si les lois d'affichage et les lois comme la loi sur les enfants des nouveaux arrivants n'étaient pas présentes, l'anglais supplanterait le francais dans les grands centres du Québec. La langue EST importante, et je vois difficilement pourquoi certains se choqueraient de voir ces lois implantées.

"Oui je suis au Québec! Cependant, c'est un droit de base de m'exprimer comme je le veux. Vous n'allez jamais dicter comment je vais m'exprimer. Si je veux m'exprimer en allemand, c'est mon choix."

effectivement, sauf que si tu veux te faire comprendre, parle le francais. Comme si je vais habiter dans un pays comme la Suède. J'ai le droit de parler chinois si je veux.. j'ai la liberté de le faire. Sauf que si je veux me faire comprendre, je parlerais le suédois. Les lois ici au Québec sont pour préserver la langue, rien de plus, rien de moins.

"Votre attitude est bigote, raciste et discriminatoire."

Bigote? raciste? discriminatoire? tu t'exprimes comme une vraie victime. Les anglophones feraient parti d'un Québec souverain comme toi et moi... il n'y a pas de discrimination la. Les anglophones n'auraient qu'a apprendre la langue du pays.. comme toi et moi l'avons fait.
Ou est la dicrimination? Comme j'ai dis plus tot, les lois sont en place pour préserver la langue.

"Si je choisi de m'exprimer en anglais sur mon blogue, c'est pour des raisons qui me sont personnels, "

et jamais je n'ai discuté ce choix, alors inventez moi pas des paroles..

"La première raison, c'est que j'aime les langues. J'ai une affinité pour les langues qui ne sont pas la mienne, et je considère mon blogue comme un moyen de pouvoir pratiquer mon anglais écrit.

bravo, j'aime les langues aussi. Meme si je suis un Québécois séparatiste, j'adore les cultures et langues différentes. J'en parle présentement 3, mais étudies une 4e. Je crois que tu as une très mauvaise impression des séparatistes ou de la cause souverainiste. Pour t'aider et te faire comprendre, j'inclus un lien:

http://www.pq.org/nv/media/acrobat/44.pdf

En lisant ce lien, garde un esprit ouvert. Comme c'est mentionné dans la deuxième page, au Québec, nous formons une nation par la langue que nous partageons sur le territoire, mais aussi par notre histoire, notre culture, nos institutions et nos valeurs collectives. Il est inutile de me lancer dans toutes les comparaisons avec le Canada (qui semble etre 4 pays dans 1), mais la souveraineté n'est pas un sentiment "anti Canadien", mais plutot le désir de préserver cette culture, cette langue, cette histoire, et d'avoir la possibilité de faire nos propres décisions. C'est d'etre un peuple autonome, qui tout en continuant a avoir un partenariat avec le Canada, sera NOTRE peuple.

"Je crois que c'est facile de porter des accusations sans connaître de quoi on parle. Ce n'est pas une question de "guts" comme tu dis, c'est une question d'identité qui va au-delà des cultures linguistiques. Nous, les acadiens, on est aussi canadiens."

alors tu vois, nous les Québécois, on est pas aussi Canadiens. Personnellement, j'ai AUCUN sentiment d'appartenance avec le Canada. C'est un peu comme les États-Unis pour moi.. ce sont nos voisins, mais nous sommes différents.

J'ai réagi vivement a ton commentaire sur ton blog, je l'admet. Cependant, ta réaction en réponse était tout aussi régie par les émotions. Tu accuses les Québécois d'etre bigots, racistes et discriminatoires, et tu accuse de violation envers les droits de liberté d'expression, et toi meme dans ton premier message, tu avais mentionné: "I am so fed up with the Canadian Government letting quebecers do whatever the hell they want. Sure sure, just let them churn out seperatism propaganda like it was ok."

N'est-ce pas un peu hypocrite?

J'espère que tu as passé de belles vacances au Nouveau Brunswick, et j'espère que ton retour dans notre belle nation s'est bien passé. J'apprécierais si tu pouvais afficher ma réponse sur ton site comme tu l'as fait pour mon premier message, histoire de me laisser une chance de défendre mes commentaires. Je comprendrai cependant si tu ne le fais pas.

a la prochaine!

Cédric

=======================================
Les autre lecteurs:
=======================================

Salut Gabriel,

Que les gens peuvent être faibles d'esprits et surtout n'avoir aucun "guts" pour ne pas signer leur message. Je ne vois pas comment ces derniers peuvent faire avancer une souveraineté ;-).
Et en plus quand il font des fautes de grammaire française ;-) et se targuent d'être des professeurs aux autres.
Qu'ils regardent ce qui se passent à l'extérieur de leur nombril et peut être ils comprendront. Un vieu proverbe dit : "Il faut balayer devant sa porte".

Il faut dire que tu as cherché les attaques en touchant des cordes sensibles et surtout chez les gens susceptibles. Ouvrir l'esprit n'est pas une attaque mais un moyen de se questionner sur les choses et d'avancer.

Lâches pas Gabriel, l'Acadie a besoin de toi et le Québec aussi ;-)
=======================================

Salut Gabriel,

Je viens de jeter un coup d'oeil sur ton blogue. Bravo, c'est une belle
réponse. Il aurait été facile de perdre les pédales et taper dans le tas
mais tu a tout mijoté. :o)

Tu le sais probablement, je suis séparatiste et indépendantiste jusqu'au
fonds des os mais ça me fait moi aussi royalement chier de voir le PQ
attacher le mot "national" à tout ce qui existe au Québec. Le mot
"capitale nationale" réfère à Ottawa, pas à Québec bordel... C'est la
même chose pour les parcs et les lieux publics. Vive la confusion
gratuire et inutile.

Ciao!
=======================================
Anonymous post from another reader, James X:

50 years ago people in Quebec were told to define themselves according
to religion and were manipulated and repressed by their own church.
They were kept as a cheap and available work force…exploited and
impoverished.

Is it a coincidence that the rest of North American in large cities
enjoyed salaries and lifestyles far above the Catholic Quebecois of
the time?

In 2004, church officials are now suit wearing politicians and tell
the Quebecois to define themselves according to language.

The lyrics are the same, but the music has changed.

If you keep a population fearful of the one thing than can make them
competitive on the international art, business and cultural stage, you
have an insular and ignorant populous who will continue to make rich
other Quebecois.

Wake up.

And about Acadians, they respect the rights of individuals more than
man made language and culture. Equal respect for all living things is
more important than dictatorial aspects of culture such as religion or
language, which seems to be the lens through which small minded people
view other human beings.

Go ahead and waste your life by resenting people because they don't
speak French. The rest of the world is busy loving, nurturing and
trying to be better, kinder human beings. Yes, this includes learning
as many languages as possible and traveling the world to learn that
separation and division only breeds ignorance and hate.

Language is a tool for communication, not a means to incite hate or fear.
=======================================

Management Finance Sucks

Yes, you heard me. I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE I HATE IT. I have 906 words to go before my assignment is finished. It is due at 9am. It is presently 4am. I have 5 hours left. Can you say "Coffee time"? THIS IS PURE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!

Six Flags - La Ronde

Larry Curly and Moe. The three stooges on the Orbit.

Dobson Trail hike!

Hello Everyone,

My friend Luc and I set out for a two day 20km hike in the Dobson Trail, in Riverview NB. The Dobson (as locals call it) was blazed in 1960 by Dr Dobson. This man set out with a map and compas and marked a trail to Fundy National Park (37 miles long). Today, many enjoy a fantastic hike to Fundy through this trail. I thought I would share some pictures of it with you.


Welcome to the Dobson Trail. Come on, can't you hear the call of the wild?

NB has some huge HUGE bugs.

View from the camp site.

Fire's burning, fire's burning. Draw nearer, Draw nearer, in the gloaming, in the gloaming come sing and be merry.

Luc's idea of a camp site.

My idea of a camp site.

Je me souviens...

Hello everyone. I apologize to my Anglophone readers, (who far outweigh my Francophone readers), but I need to address an issue today that was emailed to me anonymously by, I am guessing, a disgruntled French-Canadian. I might post a translation if I have time later on.

J'aimerais d'adresser ce blogue à la personne qui m'a envoyée un message anonyme par courriel dans les dernières 24 heures. Par respect, je vais lui adresser la parole dans la langue de Molière. Et, à la fin, je vais inclure la lettre en question pour que vous puissiez tous voir comment facile il est de se cacher derrière l'anonymat. Ce qui me rend le plus mal-à-l'aise dans cette situation, c'est que je devine, que si vous lisez mon blogue, c'est que vous me connaissez personnellement. Alors, si vous me connaissez, pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas capable de dialoguer correctement? Si vous croyez à vos propos, pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas capable d'apposer votre signature au bas de ce que vous dîtes? Avez-vous honte? Je souhaite que l'auteur du message se dévoile.

J'ai toujours cru que j'ai une habilité à déceler de mon entourage les gens qui ont de l'intelligence, le sens du débat et qui sont assez ouverts d'esprit pour accepter les points de vue des autres. De plus, si vous avez des choses à me dire, je considère que je suis assez homme pour me les faire dire en pleine face. Alors, je suis un peu déçu que j'ai choisi de m'entourer par certaines gens qui, évidement, ne sont pas complètement intègres.

Alors, sans plus tarder, je vais adresser les propos de monsieur ou madame X.

La lettre commence comme suit : "J'ai lu ton commentaire sur le Québec, et je ne pouvais m'empêcher de te répondre le commentaire suivant (dans une langue que tu sembles comprendre): if you don't like it, leave it."

Tu m'as très mal compris, mon cher X. Je n'ai jamais dit que je n'aime pas le Québec. Croyez moi, si je n'aimais pas le Québec, je n'y serais pas resté 8 ans. Pour ce qui est de la langue que je semble comprendre, en effet je comprends l'anglais, ce n'est qu'une des 4 langues dont je maîtrise.

Je devine que tu es Québécois. Alors, tu es sûrement né ici. Tu n'as eu aucun choix dans ta langue, ta nation, tes origines, c'est un concours de circonstances auquel tu n'y es pour rien. Par contre, j'ai choisi de m'installer au Québec. Pour sa langue, pour sa culture, pour son peuple, pour sa nation. Mon côté curieux voulait venir comprendre pourquoi un peuple de gens si choyé semblait si insatisfait. Alors, avec mes deux valises et 400$ je suis parti vers le Québec pour vivre la plus belle aventure de ma vie.

Plus tard vous dîtes : "Un peu d'éducation ne te ferais pas de mal non plus.. le Québec EST une nation. Pour commencer ta recherche, tu peux regarder les "bills" qui ont passé dans les 2 dernières années à Ottawa."

Premièrement, votre arrogance ne dissimule pas vos complexes. Deuxièmement, je comprends que le Québec est une nation. C'est clair. Ce que je n'accepte pas, c'est l'association de facto pour pays, que semble prôner un certain groupe. J'ai dit dans mon blogue : "You are not a country". Je n'ai jamais nié le statut de nation. étant moi-même issue d'une nation qui n'a pas de frontières, je peux comprendre que la nation se vit dans l'âme.

Un peu après vous dites : "Tu mentionnes les "basic human rights". Dis moi(sic) une chose... si tu vas habiter en Suède, vas tu(sic) juste t'attendre a(sic) ce que tout le monde parlent(sic) l'anglais, ou bien tu vas(sic) apprendre le suédois? Meme(sic) chose ici au Québec. Tu veux vivre ici, parle francais(sic). On ne peut conserver la langue si on ne la parle pas et si on s'assimile. Bien sur, étant acadien, on ne peut s'attendre de toi que le francais (sic) soit important ou bien que tu ne soit (sic) pas assimilé."

Premièrement, si votre langue est si importante, pourquoi faites-vous autant de fautes de grammaire et d'orthographe? Je parle français. Très bien même. Par contre, je sais que je fais des fautes, nul n'est parfait. à l'Université de Moncton, les Québécois se classent derrière les Acadiens lors des tests de classement de Français, chaque année. Votre français oral, n'est pas plus français que le Chiac des Acadiens. Alors, ne venez pas me faire la morale sur l'importance du français. Les acadiens se démènent depuis 400 ans pour le faire valoriser dans une mer d'anglais. De plus, les acadiens ne sont pas plus assimilés que vous l'êtes. La différence, c'est que les acadiens sont moins nombreux que les québécois, au Nouveau-Brunswick, nous ne sommes pas plus 300 000, grâce à la déportation. Oú étaient nos cousins Québécois et Français lorsque les Anglais brûlaient nos maisons, tuaient nos enfants ou dispersaient nos familles de 1755 à 1763? Si nous avons survécus 400 ans, c'est que nous avons une fierté que vous ne comprendrez jamais. Je gage que vous ne saviez pas que jusqu'au milieu du 20e siècle il n'y avait pas de programme en français pour former des enseignants? Oui si je vais habiter en Suède j'apprendrai le suédois. C'est normal. Par contre, est-ce que les autorités suédoises vont m'empêcher de mettre des affiches dans mon magasin, en anglais, même si c'est une propriété privée? Est-ce que les autorités vont rendre illégale l'envoi de mes enfants dans une école anglaise parce que je ne suis pas moi-même allé dans une école anglophone?

Oui je suis au Québec! Cependant, c'est un droit de base de m'exprimer comme je le veux. Vous n'allez jamais dicter comment je vais m'exprimer. Si je veux m'exprimer en allemand, c'est mon choix. Si je veux le faire en français, c'est mon choix. Votre attitude est bigote, raciste et discriminatoire. Je me suis fait dire plusieurs fois par des anglophones, au N.-B. : "You are in Canada, speak Canadian". Vos propos, sont identiques. L'ironie est remarquable.

Si je choisi de m'exprimer en anglais sur mon blogue, c'est pour des raisons qui me sont personnels, et qui ne vous regardent même pas. Mais puisque vous tenez à m'éduquer, je vais vous rendre le même service. La première raison, c'est que j'aime les langues. J'ai une affinité pour les langues qui ne sont pas la mienne, et je considère mon blogue comme un moyen de pouvoir pratiquer mon anglais écrit. Je suis relu par des gens qui sont compétents en anglais et qui peuvent me donner des trucs pour m'améliorer. Deuxièmement, j'ai des amis de part le monde qui ont tous en commun la même langue: l'anglais. L'anglais est la langue prédominante du monde des affaires internationales et sur Internet. Si j'ai choisi d'afficher mon site en anglais, encore une fois, c'est mon choix. La beauté de vivre dans un pays libre, c'est que vous avez le droit de ne pas être d'accord avec mon choix. Si cela vous tente, vous pouvez même faire une grosse affiche avec des slogans anti-gabrielrobichaud.com et manifester au centre-ville.

En parlant du mouvement indépendantiste vous dîtes : "je te répondrai que les gens de l'Est ont probablement pas les "guts" de le faire. Ils sont assimilés au reste comme toi. "

Je crois que c'est facile de porter des accusations sans connaître de quoi on parle. Ce n'est pas une question de "guts" comme tu dis, c'est une question d'identité qui va au-delà des cultures linguistiques. Nous, les acadiens, on est aussi canadiens. On est fier de notre patrie. On se sent bien au Canada. Alors, pourquoi nous séparerions-nous? Nos droits de minorité francophone sont enchâssés dans la constitution Canadienne depuis plus d'une décennie. Les politiques linguistiques du N.-B. nous satisfont, et lorsqu'elles ne font plus, on les change.

Ne venez pas nous accuser de ne pas avoir de "guts", parce qu'on ne survie pas un génocide sans "guts". Après la déportation qui a débuté en 1755 et une guerre qui ne finissait plus de finir, la France a tout cédé à l'Angleterre lors du Traité de Paris signé le 10 février 1763, mais on est toujours là. On est revenu à pieds, une marche qui a pris plus de 5 ans pour certains groupes, 2200 miles au travers des Appalaches. ça c'est du "guts". On est revenu réclamer nos villages ruinés, nos terres saccagées pour réclamer notre patrie. Ne venez pas me parler de "guts". Vous ne savez pas de quoi vous parlez.

Et pour clôturer votre éloquente lettre vous avez ensuite l'audace d'affirmer: "Tu vantes l'acadie comme un paradis.. pourquoi tu y retourne pas? Retournes y. Débarrasse. Le Québec n'a pas besoin de gens qui se foutent de la langue et parlent 2 mots francais par phrase qui sort de leur bouche."

Comment répondre à ces insultes? Je crois que vos propos montrent à quel point vous êtes ignorants de la culture acadienne et canadienne.

Respectueusement,
Gabriel Robichaud
Acadien, Canadien et Québécois!


PS: Voici l'intégrale de la lettre en question. Bonne lecture!

Bonjour,

J'ai lu ton commentaire sur le Québec, et je ne pouvais m'empecher de te répondre le commentaire suivant (dans une langue que tu sembles comprendre): if you don't like it, leave it.

Un peu d'éducation ne te ferais pas de mal non plus.. le Québec EST une nation. Pour commencer ta recherche, tu peux regarder les "bills" qui ont passé dans les 2 dernières années a Ottawa.

Tu mentionnes les "basic human rights". Dis moi une chose... si tu vas habiter en Suède, vas tu juste t'attendre a ce que tout le monde parlent l'anglais, ou bien tu vas apprendre le suédois? Meme chose ici au Québec. Tu veux vivre ici, parle francais. On ne peut conserver la langue si on ne la parle pas et si on s'assimile. Bien sur, étant acadien, on ne peut s'attendre de toi que le francais soit important ou bien que tu ne soit pas assimilé.

tu as dis:

"We have as many reasons to seperate as Quebecers do, if not more."

et je te répondrai que les gens de l'Est ont probablement pas les "guts" de le faire. Ils sont assimilés au reste comme toi.

Tu vantes l'acadie comme un paradis.. pourquoi tu y retourne pas? Retournes y. Débarrasse. Le Québec n'a pas besoin de gens qui se foutent de la langue et parlent 2 mots francais par phrase qui sort de leur bouche.

Etc.

Last weekend I went camping with some friends in "Mont Tremblant 'National' Park". I am so sick and tired of the arrogant attitude in this province. It is not a national park, its a provincial park. When I got to the parc, I was surprised to find out that this place is completely not canadian, but quebecois. I am so fed up with the Canadian Government letting quebecers do whatever the hell they want. Sure sure, just let them churn out seperatism propaganda like it was ok. What a farce. In a province where you cannot even put up a sign in english without getting a fine, clearly violating basic human rights, the government just ignores it. And, Today, I am sick of it.

Thank god I am going back to New-Brunswick on vacation next week. I leave on Friday, and I can't wait. Hopefully, i'll be able to do some photo-blogging while I am down there. So stay tuned. I am hoping I will get to go to either Fundy or Kouchibougouak National park. Real national park that extend for kilometers and kilometers, so cheasy knock-off in the boonies of Quebec. Don't get me wrong, the parc "national" mont tremblant was great, I had a good time, and more than likely one of the best provincial parks i have ever visited, but this national word just pisses me off. I am actually thinking of writting a complaint letter. I am so sick of this. Why is happeneing? I think I am going to write my MP and my MLA, oh wait, its not Member of Legislative assembly in Quebec, its Member of the NATIONAL Assembly. Are you kidding me? Are these people dilluted. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY, YOU ARE A PROVINCE. I am so sick and tired of all this seperatism. You have had two referendums, lost them both. GET OVER IT. You are a province.

Can you imagine how crazy it would look if Acadians decided to seperate? Create their own territory? We have as many reasons to seperate as Quebecers do, if not more. Yet, we aren't dumb enough to think that we can actually pull it off. Well, there were a group of really radical acadians in the 60 and 70's who created teh Acadian party and wanted to split the New-Brunswick in two to form 2 distinct provinces. They did not do very well politically, but they did get the message accross and were heard by NB political leaders. They eventually died out because their mission was accomplished. I think the PQ and Bloc could learn a thing or two from acadian history.

Acadian history teaches a lesson of cooperation and determination. It shows that two lingistic communities can live together in harmony without ever crossing out people's rights from the charter or churning out propaganda.

Same Old Same Old

*grumble* *GRUMBLE*

I have no Idea what to write about today. I feel like I should write about something but there really isn't that much happening. Let me see...

Well, last night I went to Chris and Dion's for pot luck dinner with James. As per usual there were quite a few people there. As usual a good time was had by all. My mood was something of a mystery to me last night. I was not my usual self. I felt inhibited. I think there is too much going on right now. Work is crap. I mean, CRAPOLA. I have no idea what the future is going to be like. But I guess I dont have much say in the matter right now. I should just hold on tight.

Lately I have been cranky and tired and impatient with everything. It seems I just can't get enough sleep. I need a vacation. A BIG LONG one. Which I am not going to have. I do get to go to New-Brunswick for a week. I leave in 15 days. That, I am actually looking forward too! I can't wait to get out of here for a while and not worry about anything and just relax and hangout and do nothing. NOTHING. I dont think I am even going to workout or anything while I am there. Well, not unless I really want too.

Speaking of working out, I am in a tremendous amount of pain right now. I must say, the home gym is getting lots of use. I am totaly in love with this machine. I am so glad I got it. It has brought a whole new dimension to working out. Doing stuff inside your own appartment rocks. No dumb jocks staring at you. No waiting around for machines to be free. No wipping off other idiots gross sweat of the seat. No gay sex addicts cruising you in the shower. Its fantastic. I am currently doing a three day workout. day 1 is chest and abbs, day two is shoulders and arms and day three is back and legs. Its pretty cool. I am still waiting on the replacement part for the upper lat tower. Its been a week now and still nothing. I will probably call Bowflex support when I get home.

I am scheduled to go camping this weekend with Jon, Suzanne, Chris, Dion and James. I think there might some others coming but I am not sure!! I am actually very excited at the idea of going camping somewhere!! It should be very cool. I don't even know where we are going.

Anyway, I better get back to my Detailed Requirements document review. Yes, its as exciting as it sounds.

My New Toy

Do you recognise this magnificient piece of machinery? Hmmm. I am sure you do. Late at night, munching on some chips and drinking soft drinks, you have seen this before. Its the Bowflex.

I have been monitoring the Bowflex infomercial now for a few years, and I have always been intrigue/fascinated with it. So 4 weeks ago, on a day off from work, I was relaxing infront of the boobtube and found the Bowflex informatial. We, next thing I knew I had just ordered one, for only 1415 canadian clams.


Yesturday, I received my Bowflex after a long battle with Purolator.  And I must say, that I am very impressed with the craftsmanship of the equipment. It is extremely well built and designed. I was impressed by how easily I was able to assemble all the components, and there were many. I took me about 3 hours to unpackage all 4 boxes, and assemble the machine. The only downfall was that one of the bars was dammaged during shipping, so I could not install the Lat Pulldown component, but I called customer service and they are shipping me a replacement component at no extra charge.

I was also concerned about the effectiveness of the movements. Well, they are all very smooth and really work out the muscles that are targetted. You have resistance in a very smooth natural way, it does not feel mechanical like in a ordinary gym.

So I am now preparing my workout schedule. I think James and I are going to set something up so that we can workout together, might be easier to stay on track that way. I will give you guys regular updates.

Evil Dead Part 1 and 2, The Musical!

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you, what can only be considered, as the most original idea for a musical since the Rocky Horror Picture Show: Evil Dead Part 1 and 2, The Musical.

My brother had suggested that we go see this performance after he had seen in Toronto. He said not to sit in the first few rows because there is a risk of getting blood splattered all over yourself. Well, he was right. He also said that my favorite part of the performance would be the song "What the fuck was that?" Once again, he was correct.

It was campy, it was funny, its was cute, and it was charming. I think the most endearing thing about it was that it was unpretentious. I mean it. The set, the sound, the "effects" the script, it was honest and visibly, true to the writers' artistic vision. I LOVED IT!

Mark my words people, the show will be around for quite some time. I predict a world-wide tour... Well, maybe not world-wide, but at least North-American. It pokes fun at campy horror movies from the early 80's. If you have ever watched Evild Dead, Friday the 13th or any other 1980's thriller flicks, you need, no you must go see this musical. It will tickle you until you can't laugh no more.

Word of caution : don't expect a high glam performance like you would see at the Place des Arts, but trust me, thats a good thing. If you want something refreshing, new and innovative, go see this play. Buy your tickets through www.ticketpro.ca or Just For Laughs website for more info.

Hot Times! Summer in the City!

 HA HA!!I got myself  a new Air Conditionner today! An LG no less!!   Thank you Future Shop for making my life so wonderful! It was so cheap, I wanted to buy two! But I stopped myserlf! ;)

In other news, my brother Joel is visiting this week! Thats always fun.  And James is coming back from Miami today! That is defenately cool.
 
More New For Out in the City!
The show is finally coming to the Life Network tonight at 10pm Eastern Standard Time. So if you didn't get a chance to see me on the french network, now is your chance!!

The Straight Men In My Life

There exists a great divide between straight men and gay men. I think that most straight guys do not have male friends who are gay. Or if they do, these friends are not usually close friends. I have always wondered why, in general, straight men treat gay men more like girls than guys.

Growing up, I was always surrounded by girls. All my friends were girls, and they naturally included me in everything they did. I was one of the girls. If I was going to an all girl event, it was ok. The girls would say : "Its Gabriel. He's one of us." Talk about confusing. I was lucky enough to have a couple of real guy friends. And I cherished their friendships immensely.

Marc
My first "guy" friend was Marc. Marc and I met when I was taking the bus for the first time in Grade 1. He was a third grader and I was in awe. I remember thinking he was so smart and so big and strong. He had all the cool friends. He was the big brother I had been longing for all my life. Pretty much for next 7 years, Marc was my big brother, my mentor, my advisor and he was very proud of that. I remember one day he even pulled me aside to tell me about girls. Explained it all to me because he thought someone should. He was probably the nicest guy I had ever met. At school though, I had to make myself scarce. I mean, who needs a yappy little brother around?

Jerome
Jerome and I met at Scout camp when I was 12. We became instant best friends. We made our parents drive an hour almost every weekend, for the next few years, just so we could hang out. Jerome was the first guy to treat me like a regular guy. We hung out, got in trouble, played in the woods, drove our bikes, picked on his little brother, did everything we possibly could think of together. I loved him to pieces. I think what I loved the most was that I truely was his friend. Like, a real, guy-guy friend. There is an incredible bond between men, when they are close, that is unspoken. Guys just simply won't admit that they have a strong love for their good friends. Jerome would have layed down in traffic for me, and I would have done the same. I wonder where he is sometimes. I have not seen him since high school, over 12 years ago now. I miss him dearly.

Tobi
Tobi and I met when he started dating my, at the time, best friend Nadine. I'll have to tell you about Nadine another day. Then, in grade 11 we had the same French class, and we ended up partnering up for some homework. Tobi was mysterious, dark and poetic. He was passionate about everything. He was also vulnerable. There was an honest vulnerability about him that was magnificent. He portrayed himself to everyone else as a tough guy, once you knew him and you could break through the walls he had around him, he was a sensitive guy. Tobi was the first of my straight guy friends to whom I spoke of being gay. It was a very difficult time for us both. He did get over it and our friendship continued for years. I have not seen him in almost 3 years. I don't even know where he is now. I hope he is well.

Mario
Initially, Mario and I were friends by default. His mother (who ended up being my grade 10 math teacher) and my mother were childhood friends. So, I went to Mario's house a lot and Mario came over to my house quite a bit. We were eventually together so often that we became friends. It was either sit there and stare at each other or do something fun while our mothers chit chatted for hours and hours. We became very close over the years. Mario was part of my gang when I was a teenager. The bond we all shared as part of the gang was very strong. Even today, that bond is there, even though we all have lives of our own, scattered across the country.

Luc
Some guys are just way too cool for their own good. My friend Luc, thankfully I am still in touch with him, is one of a select few that I can actually say I know, for a fact, that he doesn't see me any differently than any other guy. I think Luc is beyond cool actually, he is genuine and the fact that we can fight over the dumbest things and get mad as hell and still remain friends is not lost on me. When I told Luc I was gay, we went for a long walk and talked until the wee hours of the morning. He was the first person who actually listened to me about being gay. He has no idea what a big part he played in getting me to feel good about myself. Today, he lives not too far from my hometown with his wife now. Good for him. I am hoping to see him when I go to NB this summer. Its been too long since he and hung out.

Mike aka Duke
I met Mike, or Duke, at a summer camp were we both worked. We only started to hang out when he started dating my friend Gina (aka Willow). Eventually we became good friends, and then we ended up renting an apartment with his good Friend Tim. Our friendship lasted longer than his relationship with Gina. The year that Tim, Mike and I shared that apartment in Fredericton was probably the best year of my life. There was another apartment down the hall, "The Girls". We were "The Boys". It was cool.

Patrick aka Newton
I also met Patrick at summer camp. Patrick and I have been through everything together. I mean everything. We have cleaned shit, driven 16 hours on a bus, 12 hours in a truck, gone camping with psychos, done triathlons together, went swimming together, ridden together, and so much more. We have shared more cups of coffee and large pizzas than anyone else. I know all of his deep darkest secrets (hehehehehe) and he does mine. And for some strange reason, life keeps putting us in the same city. He is in Montreal now. I think our bond is probably the strongest of all. Patrick is my buddy.

My Father
There is one person with whom I had a different type of bond. This person defined me as a male, a boy and now a man. Without him acknowledging it, or maybe even without realizing it, had the biggest impact on my life... Not always positive, but that's life. That person is, my dear readers, my Father. My father taught me that to be a man you must stand up for yourself. My Father taught me that men don't cry, or act silly. Men shoot guns, hunt, fish and work with their hands. Men are the breadwinners, men are solid, men are brave and most of all, men fuck women. Well, you might think my father is extremely diseapointed as I am none of those things. But, I taught my father that men are sensitive, men are proud, men respect nature, men respect people, men laugh, play jokes, and men care for each other. Today, I know, my father is very proud of me. I am proud of who my father has become.

So to Marc, Jerome, Tobi, Mario, Luc, Daniel (aka Baloo), Michel B, Michel L, Jason, Kevin, Adam, Newton, Wolf, Duke, Yogi, Beast, Tim, Jean-Guy, Jean-Pascal and the Mis-Understood Venture Company and my Father : You guys rock!

Outta ma control

Ugh.

Well I managed to get an extension to my assignment that was due yesturday. YAY! Boooo. I don't know it just means I have more time to procrastinate. No. No. No. No. No. I will not procrastinate. I will bolt down and work hard and hand in my assignment on Monday after a well rested night of sleep. I will not be scrambling at 2 am to get my work done. I will do research and writing every night and every day until the deadline. I will not procrastinate. No sirrrreee Bob!

I am actually busy busy busy at work too. Website launches are soooo much freakin work. I have been trying to get these two websites going for a while now. Clients are being difficult, and there is tons of work to do. On top of if I have to do analysis on a couple of other projects at the same time. Did I mention there is only 24 hours in a day?

I don't know if its because I am getting old (the big Three Oh next September), but I need more and more sleep. I used to be able to get away with 6 hours of sleep. Now, I can barely get by with 8. This is a real problem for someone like me who is a night-owl. How the hell am I supposed to stay up all night and go to work in the morning (on time) if I need 8 hours of sleep? This is a huge delima in Gabeland.

JR is going to Florida next week. Hehehe. Good for him. I hope he survives the humidity and mean old people. I remember when I went to Frt Lauderdale/Miami, the only thing I could think of the entire time was : "Get me outta here!" I even cut m yi trip short by 2 days because I just couldn't stand it anymore.

Tomorrow night is the second and last episode for my show on Canal Vie. Cross your fingers, this could get ugly.

Reality TV... ok sure... reality.

Well, the TV show has finaly aired. Friday night, me and a dozen of my friends crammed into my appartment to watch the first of 2 episodes of which I am featured as a gay man in Montreal.

So far... so... well.. I don't know. I am not very excited about the editing. The comments I have been hearing so far are interesting. Some said the show was very interesting, others said, and I would have to aggree, that the way it was edited they saw a flaming queen on TV, not Gabriel. That part pisses me off. They portrayed me as this happy go lucky prancing queen, when I think in reality, I am more of a sarcastic son-of-a-whatever. Happy go lucky is defenately not what I am about. As for the prancing queen, well, I have my moments, but I don't think its 24/7... far from it actually.

So next week's episode should be of me doing the final big Esprit Triathlon and some stuff from one of my trips to Moncton. They made me keep a video diary of the trip I took when I went to Moncton in October 2003 so I got to play director and show off my family and friends. I am really anxious to see the results from that. You can go see the show synopsis for yourself.

Of course, I videotaped the whole thing. I am going to have to figure out if there are any ways of moving this into my computer somehow so I can email it around.

If you have seen the show, I would love to hear your comments in the comments link at the bottom of this article!

Happy Canada Day

I am sitting here watching our Governor General, Adrienne Clarkson, giving her speech on Parliament Hill for the Canada Day Celebrations. And I must admit that I was impressed by the acknowdlegement given to the 400th annniversary of the Founding of Acadia. There were quite a few Acadians waving starred blue, white and red flags. Living so far away from my Acadie its an amazing feeling to see your flag beeing showcased on national TV.

That makes me wonder about Quebecers. Next month, I will have been a resident of Quebec for 8 years. Its amazing how fast time flies by when you are having fun. And yes, I must admit, its been an interesting and fun 8 years. Through this time, I think I have managed to meet and interact with quite a few Quebecers and get a good grasp on Quebecois culture.

So why is it, that there are hundreds of thousands of Acadians, Happy Acadians, living, working, and having a great time in Canada while the Quebecois seem to be so disenchanted by the idea of being in Canada? They would like us to think that it is impossible to marry Canadian Culture with any other. Well, let me tell you...

Acadians were the first ones to arrive from Europe in Canada in 1604. They arrived in New-Brunsick in late June, first discovering the St-John River on June 24th 1604. It was so named in honour of St-Jean Baptist day, which has always been a staple of French culture, even in 1604. Do I need to remind you that June 24th is the Quebec "National" holiday? Acadians kept coming for next 150 years, until 1755. At that point there were tens of tousands of Acadians living very happy and prosperous lives in Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick and PEI. Quebec was also populated since 1606 and doing very well. So for the first 200 years or so French was the main language of pre-confederation Canada. Well, a few wars, a deportation/genocide and a confederation later, there is aout 1/2 million Acadians in Canada, living in french, proud Canadians, proud Acadians. That being said, Happy Canada day, EVERYONE.