The Offensive Meaning of Christmas

Having read an interesting article in the Globe and Mail, Canadian schools struggle with what to do about Christmas, I ask myself the same question every December when we are bombarded with "Happy Holidays" and not "Merry Christmas." What's happened to Christmas, and more importantly, the meaning of Christmas?

In this article, the school principal cancels the Christmas concert because 9 students do not want to participate in the concert. So, I ask myself what the most viable outcome would be...

1. Ask the nine students to sit aside, no one is pressuring them into participating

I can't think of anything else!... In a school of about 300 students, Christmas was taken out of the school because of 9 students. Does that make sense? Should the 291 students who celebrate Christmas start complaining during Ramadan or Hanukkah? NO, AND THEY DON'T!

This country was rooted with Christian identity, and it is not respected by those who do not share the same beliefs as the majority. Children are growing up in a society where all they know is every year on December 25th, they exchange gifts. But do they know WHY we exchange gifts? It is becoming a season of greed. We already know that when American thanksgiving ends, the Christmas advertising blitz starts! It has become a season of gift giving without any explanation for why we practice this ritual. There is no more respect for the meaning of Christmas, and it has become offensive.

One perfect example of this would be at my time at the University of Guelph. During Ramadan, there would be signs hanging from the cafeteria ceiling which read "Eid Mubarak." Now, there is nothing wrong with this, my best friend practices Ramadan every year, and good for him. But what really gets to me is when Christmas rolls around and there is no signs of Christmas anywhere in the school. Maybe a "holiday" tree here and there. Its an example of how our society always tries to keep the minority happy, but at the same time they forget about the majority.

We shall never forget that Jesus is the reason for the season, and we must not leave 'Christ' out of Christmas

I found an interesting Tweet on Twitter from @Bad_Boyfriend:

"If I sell "Happy Birthday" cards at my store, do you get offended if it's not your birthday? Then why does "Merry Christmas" offend you?"

The Scott Hall Story on E:60

One of the most captivating wrestlers in his prime, Scott Hall was the personification of the "bad guy". He is a perfect example of how he let the life of being a professional wrestler get the best of him. This documentary by ESPN showcases the struggles that Hall now faces.

Cineplex Coming to Guelph's South-End

It has been confirmed by Canadian Business that Cineplex Entertainment will build a new movie theatre in the south-end of Guelph.

"The 1,600-seat theatre in the Pergola Commons development at Gordon Street and Clair Road, will open in 2012, the Toronto company said Tuesday."

The south-end of Guelph is booming. The intersection of Gordon and Clair will see tremendous growth in the next couple of years. Sobeys, who owns the land across from the old Pergola site, has plans to subdivide the land into different plaza's, including a grocery store.

New 2012 Toronto Blue Jays Logo

It looks like the Toronto Blue Jays are one step closer to getting rid of their horrific "JAYS" logo. Out with the new, in with the old!


The Blue Jays have high expectations next year, and to go along with that they will implement a new revamped version of their logo from the 90s. ESPN reports this is the new logo for the 2012 season. 


Below is a comparison of the logo in the 90s and the new logo for the 2012 season.

Apple and the Rest

I've always been an Apple loyalist. Anything that had that simple, sexy, half eaten apple on it, I was buying. iPods, Macs, iPhones, iPads, you name it. But recently, I've had a change in heart. Shall we call it a shift in reality?

One thing about me is I always keep my options open, and for years, Apple was the best. It's arguable that Apple is still the best, but there are, in my opinion, better products in the market. Apple does not create products, they innovate them.


All of a sudden I thought to myself, what would it be like to use something other than Apple?

I still love my Mac, even though I use Windows 7 at work (and it's VERY impressive with no problems). I switched my iPhone for a BlackBerry Torch, and iPad for a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. This tab puts the iPad to shame!

The thing I love about Android tablets is that they feel like a computer. The iPad just feels like an oversized phone. The iOS UI hasn't changed in 5 years, and having to waiting 3 years before getting copy and paste is ridiculous.


I guess the message I'm trying to convey is try something new. Fair enough?

What Makes Google+ Different?

With the introduction of Google+, the social networking world has gotten a lot more crowded. Just like in business, competition brings out the best of us, and the new battle between Google+ and Facebook will definitely make user experiences a whole lot better. The social networking scene is about to get interesting.

Google has had numerous attempts at social networking. First came Google Wave which was suppose to revolutionize the way we send emails. It is no longer available. Second came Google Buzz which was their version of Twitter. I don't think anyone remembers that it exists. So what makes Google+ different?

Even though Google+ is more of a threat to Facebook, it is a combination of Facebook and Twitter. The way you communicate with your "Circles" is similar to Facebook. A clean look with a feed that gives you all information on activities. Circles is Google's version of following people and is similar to Twitter. There is no friend request, all you do is add the user to your circle. Purhaps this combination of Facebook and Twitter will set Google+ aside from their other failed products. Users are fimilar with Facebook and Twitter, and in all honesty, they don't need Google+.

But the fact that Google+ is not Facebook makes it very appealing. Many people do not like the clutter on Facebook. Google+ makes things more simple and tries to eliminate the crazy carnival that goes on every day on Facebook.

Facebook is well on it's way to 1 billion users, and that may be the toughest task for Google+. Social networking is nothing without the users. Facebook is popular because "everyone" is on it. It may take a while for Google+ to grow into a serious network where all your friends are sharing. It's not fun when you share things on Google+ and no on notices it. Believe me, I'm there now!

Rex Murphy on Vancouver Riot

Only in Vancouver would you see a riot after a hockey defeat. Afterall, Libyans are being killed by fighter jets, so how do we justify the actions that had taken place?

Rex Murphy (in this video) give his expressive opinion on the mindless riot that took place.

A Shift in Canadian Politics

With one of the most unpredictable and unimaginable elections in recent memory, the most accurate way to summarize it all in one sentence would be to say; there is a shift in Canadian politics. We have seen a shift in the status quo, and possibly the re-alignment in the Canadian spectrum.

What the Conservatives won on election night was a "Jean Chretien Majority." Chretien was able to fulfull his agenda and consistently bring in surpluses with his fiscal policies. But it is argued that Chretien and the Liberals were able to successfully stay in power for 10 years because of the split in the Right of the spectrum. In this 2011 election, we have once again seen the same outcome and the significance of the split, but in the Left. What does this mean?

It's a deja vu cycle. When there was a split in the Right, the sensible outcome was to unite the Right. That was the only way to go head-to-head with a dominate leading government (Liberals). When the Canadian Alliance/Progressive Conservative merger materialized, the spectrum shifted. We are seeing that same shift now, and the only way to stop a dominate Conservative Party (which won a stronger majority than Chretien's 1997 government) is to unite the Left to stop the split in votes. Yes the Liberals and NDP are historically and ideologically different, but they are to thank for the Harper majority. If they are seriously worried about the future of this country, we have to be realistic. The NDP are not just a 3rd wheel any more, and no matter how many seats the Liberals won, you need to respect their past and how they helped shape this country. It's not a matter of a big-small party difference any more, it's an equal big-big party shift in a crowded Left. And this needs to be noticed.

It is fantastic to see the demise of the Bloc Quebecois, and a Quebec shift to a federalist party. The NDP absolutely dominated Quebec with 59 seats. Could this tell us that the sovereign movement has been outdated? It is possible, but a more concrete answer is that Quebec still does not like the Conservatives. It was argued that the Conservatives needed Quebec to win a majority. But in fact, they didn't. It will be interesting to see the roll Quebec plays in government by sending only 6 MPs to the House.

The bottom-line is there has been a shift to a two-party system, something I've advocated as a more stable way of governing. It helps form more majority governments, and also a united stronger opposition. This in my eyes is where we are headed, and where we should be heading. The wind in the Liberal sail has stopped moving and it allows this historic shift to take place. Whether or not these party's take it seriously will determine the future in Canadian Politics.

One thing is for sure, the Conservative Majority government has a lot on their plate. And it's going to be a very interesting 4 years.