Life in the T-Dot

Hey. Sorry for the recent lack of activity. Perhaps summer break isn't as relaxed as I had once thought...

Anyways, it's summer here in Hogtown. Suffice to say, there's plenty to do. Gas prices are skyrocketing, but tourism here still exists, although it's quickly declining. Food prices are rising worldwide, but it's somewhat of a comfort to know that I can now get a artificially processed, made in who-knows-where, 500 calorie McRib in Toronto (sigh). Simply more proof, consumerism is ruining our world

Something that caught my attention recently was this much touted report.
Published by the reknowned Fraser Institute, this report, penned in part by our former premier Mike Harris, absolutely roasts Toronto. Apparently, our median incomes are in decline, our number of jobs is slipping, and (supposedly) most concerning of all, the number of management jobs is falling.

Is Toronto the Good, now Toronto the Bad? Nah, at least, I don't think so. But why do over 80% of people surveyed by the Toronto Star think so? Maybe, we're doing something wrong. Maybe the Fraser Institute is just jealous.

But in any case, I still love Toronto.

Changing the world, slowly.

I was unexpectedly on TV today. I won't give out specifics for privacy reasons, but I'll tell you why.

Last week, I was invited to participate in a local youth forum, otherwise, a disscusion, on internet safety. Approximately ~20 youth, near my age were selected to take part. Our input, and ideas will travel to London, England for an international conference on internet safety. But it's all part of the bigger picture. In October, the result of all the ideas at the London conference will be presented to the United Nations as a draft for a set of international youth laws.

Ponder this unrelated idea for a moment. You're driving down the freeway in your car. The lanes are heavily congested, but still moving quickly (this is why it's a hypothetical situation :P). Suddenly, you slam on you brakes. Imagine the effects of that action. The car behind you will also have to brake, as well as the one behind it, and the one behind that one. The effects of your break could effectively impact a car 50 kilometres behind you.

That's how I see this conference. Although we're just a small part of the puzzle, slowly, my generation is changing the world. Our ideas will have a part in fuelling the future, however small they may seem to be.

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them.
But the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

- Unknown

Sentiments of a Graduate

I'm officially finished. Graduation was last night. It wasn't especially spectacular, but It'll suffice, at least for this graduation. The ceremony was slightly too dry for my tastes, and the valedictorian speech was mediocre, but hey, it's the memory that counts.

The food was bad, the banquet hall, outdated, but it's grad right?. I wasn't anticipating the music award, but nevertheless, I was honoured to receive it.

This graduation may not stay in my memory forever, but for now, this marks the passage of another (somewhat) significant chapter of my life. It's time to move on. As Les Brown so eloquently put it, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. "
~Attributed to Mark Twain, unconfirmed

Perfectionism. The way to go?

The word, "perfection" derives from the Latin "perfectio", and "perfect" — from "perfectus". The oldest definition of "perfection", fairly precise and distinguishing the shades of the concept, goes back to Aristotle. In Book Delta of the Metaphysics, he distinguishes three meanings of the term, or rather three shades of one meaning, but in any case three different concepts. That is perfect:
1. which is complete — which contains all the requisite parts;
2. which is so good that nothing of the kind could be better;
3. which has attained its purpose.

- Wikipedia

In a society that encourages absolute perfection, and flawless performance in almost everything, we've become wrongfully accustomed, even expectant of perfection. There are two types of perfectionists. Perfectionists in the philisophical sense do not believe in absolute perfection, otherwords, a set of conditions where there are no mistakes or flaws. They simply try to attain the best life and conditions possible.

Perfectionists in the psychological sense however, are often viewed as radical. In short, it is a belief that anything that has a flaw or mistake is unacceptable. Perfectionists in this example are often viewed as having unhealthy beliefs. Psychologists classify these people as maladaptive perfectionists.

Still, I personally believe that striving for Perfection, even if one can handle the lack of it, is in some cases unhealthy. Flaws, mistakes, imperfections, they're what make us, us. Artwork, buildings, humans, nature, nothing in it's natural state,is, or should be perfect.

"Unless I accept my faults I will most certainly doubt my virtues." ~Hugh Prather

"Striving to better, oft we mar what's well." ~William Shakespeare, King Lear, 1605

"No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers." ~Author Unknown

The Closing of Mr.Greek

Upon my visit to the (renovating) local shopping centre today, I noticed the absence of the fast food store, Mr.Greek. It spurred in my mind a vague memory of a closing sign, and that was it. I dug into my KFC Chicken Bowl (don't try it, it's disgusting), and promptly forgot about it.

When I arrived home, I remembered a conversation I had with the owner of the store a few months ago. We were discussing the closing of his small joint. Ever clueless, I had asked about the location of his new store, to which he simply grinned, and coyly replied "in my backyard". It was then that I realized the implications of the closing.

This was not a relocation,it was in essence, a forced retirement. In the mall's endeavors to redefine it's image, it had ejected any tenants with aging store facades. Of course, having been a mainstay of the mall for over 10 years, Mr.Greek was showing it's age. And so, it was presumably, forced out. Another great place lost to consumerism.

Perhaps it may seem irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but Mr.Greek was there my whole life, never changing even through times of crisis.

I'll miss you Mr.Greek.

Human Ingenuity, and it's effect on our lives

Invention is a wonderful thing. There are millions of patents worldwide, the majority of which have not reached commercial success. Some are just plain weird like this odd device, and this one . Others, like this, this, and this have changed the way humans interact, think, and play.

Truly, the last 25 years have been ones of great change. With the introduction of affordable, and powerful home computers, as well as the Internet, our world is arguably, a much better place.

Still, for those who are anti-net (there's not that many of you, get with the times already!), there's no denying that ultimately, the Internet has made our world a more accessible, if not necessarily better place.

If time travel was possible, which it isn't (yet), a person brought from 1983 would be shocked at the advances we've made. For good or for ill, the 'net has turned this world upside down. What will humans think of next? We'll just have to wait and see. As someone once said: The best way to predict the future, is to invent it.

"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."

Thomas A. Edison-US inventor (1847 - 1931)

Ruminating on the past year...

Well, my time at this school is finally over. Now that I think of it, I'll miss it. A school is so much more than simply a place of learning. It a place of firsts, and lasts, a "testing ground" of sorts for the real world. More importantly though, it is a place where dreams are born, and fulfilled (occasionally).

Still, it's time to move on to bigger, and better places. It has become a time where decisions now have a bearing on life, not just school. It is a period of transistion, the stage commonly dubbed as awkward . This is where reality, meets destiny.

"Oh, the places you will go..."- Dr. Seuss

The Rise of Consumerism

Webster's defines consumerism as: 1.The promotion of the consumer's interests & 2. The theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable.

Let me just get it out. Consumerism is ruining North America. In a land of privilege, like North America, consumerism, and the rise of big-box stores, is just wrong. Let me explain.

Consumerism, and stores like Wal-Mart not only increase the need for cheap, inhumane labour in places like China, but also drive out small, Mom-and-Pop stores that give cities, and regions, their unique character. They put a strain on our already rapidly deteriorating earth, placing profit over the planet.

Now, I'm not saying consumerism is bad to the bone. It increases the buying power of poverty-stricken families more than any government initiative ever could. But for those who can afford not to shop at these places, it's simply not worth it.

Fight Consumerism. Drop the big box stores. Support our world.

The One.

Well. Hey there.

To those of you who have been following me (trust me, there's not that many of you) this is my second foray into the blogosphere. With a new blog, comes a new mandate, a fresh unifying theme for my blog.

Here's what you can expect:

-General rambling about life, and of course, my view of the world.
-(Subjectively) brilliant insights into the more mundane aspects of life (WARNING: May contain nonsense).
-Hateful comments regarding Big-box stores. (That's you Wal-Mart.)
-And whatever else I stumble upon.

My fingers are weary. That means this post is done.

Cheers,

-Me.

"When the power of love conquers the love of power, then the world will know peace."- Jimmy Hendrix