Sunday, November 2, 2008
Hallowe’en for adults just isn’t the same as when we’re kids. For starters, we don’t have to work for it anymore. We can go buy candy any time we want. And we get to buy the stuff we like. None of those cheap lollipops and granola bars that taste like sand.
I have been entirely useless this Sunday. I went and picked up a whole lot of half-price Hallowe’en candy yesterday and am now wishing I hadn’t. I’m now keenly aware that I’ve consumed calories in excess of my dietary requirements. The doctor-reporter on CityNews said an extra 100 calories per day is enough to gain weight. Shit. Each one of those ‘fun-sized’ chocolate bars has 50-100 calories. How many have I had today…? Ugh.
And Hallowe’en is just the beginning of holiday gluttony. As we get closer to Christmas, pound-packing candies, chocolates, egg nog and alcohol are plentiful. Then there’s the actual sit-down turkey-and-stuffing dinner with no shortage of food topped off with calorie-rich gravy and desserts. Mmmm. I can count the kilos already.
One change I’ve noticed since I was a kid at Hallowe’en is the chocolate bars are getting smaller! No, it’s not me that’s gotton bigger. Hallowe’en Mars bars used to be about 1/3 of a full-sized Mars bar. Now they’re tiny little bite-sized things. WTF? I’ve noticed the same thing with Oh Henry’s. Reese Peanut Butter Cups seem to be about 80% of the size of the real thing. Is this a reaction to kids getting fat, or a marketing decision based on selling Hallowe’en candy on quantity?
If there was a point to this post, it has escaped me. Don’t eat too much candy.
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Uncategorized | Tagged: alcohol, calorie, calories, candy, chocolate, chocolate bar, Christmas, egg nog, food, Hallowe'en, Oh Henry, Reese, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Resse's Pieces, stuffing, turkey | 
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Posted by William
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Last week I attended a local all-candidates debate in my riding for the upcoming federal election on October 14th, 2008. Representatives were there from all of the major parties, and some smaller ones too, including the Green Party, NDP, Liberals, Communists, Conservatives and some party about animal rights.
The format allowed members of the community to ask questions of the panel of candidates. The venue was a small church in the St. Jamestown area, which has a very high proportion of immigrants. I assume that all of the people in attendance are interested in politics, at least enough that they want to make an informed decision as voters. After hearing a few questions it was clear to me that most of the people asking them did not understand the role of the federal government in the lives of Canadians. Many questions were very specific, and aimed at services that are clearly provided by the city. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | politics | Tagged: Election 2008, election debate, federal government, government, municipal government, provincial government | Permalink
Posted by William
Sunday, October 5, 2008
nuit blanche. Sleepless night.
It seems everyone is sick this time of year; I’m no exception. I woke up yesterday feeling like crap. I’ve wanted to go to nuit blanche since this time last year, but I wasn’t sure I would be able to. Luckily my friend and his girlfriend nudged me into getting out and going. After all that, however, they decided they were cold and tired and packed it in at 10:30. Sick little me managed to make it until 1:30. I had planned on a marathon dusk-till-dawn evening, but considering that I was far from 100% I think I did pretty well for myself.
This post isn’t so much about what I saw last night. I’m sure there will be lots of other bloggers that are far more into the arts talking about that. First of all I’d like to thank the organizers. They managed to take a cool idea and deliver. Expose a city to the arts in one night. And they did. The streets were packed with people out to see the sights. Last year had 800,000 people in attendance. I would not be surprised if we cracked a million this year.
Now, my gripes and observations. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | rants, Toronto | Tagged: art, date night, nuit blanche, pedestrians, public washroom, public washrooms, scotiabank, sleepless night, smokers, smoking, traffic | Permalink
Posted by William
Friday, October 3, 2008
This is a cool website I came across that reflects my own sensibilities in this election. It’s a strategic voting tool to help you decide which candidate to support in your riding who represents the best environmental policies.
http://www.voteforenvironment.ca |
Go check our your local candidates, and some of the contested ridings. Elizabeth May’s Central Nova riding will be an interesting race to watch.
Leave a Comment » | politics | Tagged: Canada, Election 2008, environment, Strategic Voting, Vote | Permalink
Posted by William
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Having just watched the English language federal leader’s debate I have a few quick thoughts to share… Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | politics | Tagged: Canada, conservative, Election 2008, election debate, Elizabeth May, Green Party, Jack Layton, Liberal, NDP, October 14, Stephane Dion, Stephen Harper | Permalink
Posted by William
Saturday, September 6, 2008
If you’ve ever worked in retail, you’re most likely quite familiar with the unfortunate fact that many people don’t know how to behave. I have a few nasty retail stories, but today’s post is about another issue of etiquette and hygiene: hand washing.
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3 Comments | etiquette, rants | Tagged: etiquette, hand washing, handwashing, hygiene, public health, public washroom, soap | Permalink
Posted by William
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I decided to watch the premiere of the new 90210. They’ve been promoting the hell out of it since the Olympics; I had to see what it was all about. Sometimes the teen drama can be good entertainment; the first couple of seasons of The O.C. come to mind. In The O.C the characters were interesting and actually had some depth beyond being spoiled rich kids.
They’ve unsuccessfully tried to duplicate the original Beverly Hills 90210 and The O.C; this 90210 spin-off is completely vapid. The characters were shallow, and the story was empty. There’s not much more to say; I won’t be tuning in next week.
I’m looking forward to new episodes of House and Battlestar Galactica. Thankfully there are still some TV shows out there you don’t need to be ashamed of watching.
Leave a Comment » | rants | Tagged: 90210, Beverly Hills 90210, The O.C., TV | Permalink
Posted by William
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Flag of Chinese Taipei
Over the last week chances are good you’ve seen at least some of the Olympic Games. I was watching a few days ago when I saw a flag for “Chinese Taipei” on the screen. Then I heard an announcer on the CBC refer to this nation that I had not heard of. There are more than two hundred nations participating in these games; I can’t claim to have heard of all of them.
So, what’s the deal with Chinese Taipei? Well, it turns out, Chinese Taipei is really the nation we know of as Taiwan. Riddle solved? Not quite… it turns out Taiwan isn’t really a nation either. You’re probably thinking ‘WHAT!?’ Some of the best stuff is made in Taiwan. The place we know of as Taiwan actually calls itself the Republic of China (ROC). How can there be two Chinas? The China that’s playing host to the 2008 Olympic Games officially refers to itself as the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | politics, rants | Tagged: China, Chinese Taipei, Olympic Games, Olympics, People's Republic of China, PRC, Republic of China, ROC, Taiwan, UN, United Nations | Permalink
Posted by William
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Wow, it’s been a long time since my last post…
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1 Comment | rants | Tagged: Civic Holiday, flying spaghetti monster, four-day week, FSM, moving, painting, Simcoe, work | Permalink
Posted by William
Another Talking Head 
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