Here's how the above drawing actually looks on the sidewalk:
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Wednesday 7 December 2011
Thursday 1 December 2011
Monday 10 October 2011
A different kettle of fish
So, it was about time for me to "treat" myself to a meal I don't have to cook, which I only do about every 2-4 months. I enjoy cooking and I enjoy good food, but I like a little break now and again. I stopped in at my favourite fish and chips shop and ordered halibut and chips--my usual. The last time I had it there, it cost about $12, which I was already thinking is a bit much. This time, I paid $13.51. I won't be patronizing that shop (and perhaps any others) again.
I happened to notice for the first time (not sure if it was a new sign) that the portion of halibut they give is four ounces. Given that potatoes are virtually free compared to the price of halibut, this means that I paid about $50 a pound for the pleasure of enjoying enough fish that if placed in your shoes, and you unwittingly slipped them on, chances are you wouldn't notice.
When I was a mere lad of about six, growing up in downtown Toronto, there was a Chinese fish and chip shop a block and a half from our home. Whenever you were within half a block of the place, you'd get hungry as that wonderful aroma accented by malt vinegar wafted in every direction. They served your order in a firm paper cone, wrapped in a larger newspaper cone from the previous day's news, I guess, and you got a little wooden stick with one end sharpened with which to eat it. What a deal--free reading material while you eat your lunch!
The fries were easy to eat with that stick, but the fish was another kettle of fish. Being very poor at the time, it was almost never that I got to enjoy any of the fish the place served. Matter of fact, on those rare occasions that I even got to taste the fries, one order was usually split between me and a friend or my brother and I. The fish I got to enjoy was never anything more than a small piece from a charitable friend.
The price back then?-- .10 for fries and .25 for fish and chips. No, it wasn't the 18th century.
Getting back to the crux of the matter...they are driving me to produce my own food. And don't think I won't. I will be starting a vegetable garden next spring and I mean to grow every vegetable I like that I can coax to grow in my climate. That could mean as many as thirty varieties. I'll keep you posted.
I suggest you all consider doing the same. It's time we stopped being slaves to anyone who wants to charge 50 times what they paid for something. Oh, and you should also plant fruit trees/berry bushes, etc.
Next, I'll work on trying to get off the grid and any other municipal services I can.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
I happened to notice for the first time (not sure if it was a new sign) that the portion of halibut they give is four ounces. Given that potatoes are virtually free compared to the price of halibut, this means that I paid about $50 a pound for the pleasure of enjoying enough fish that if placed in your shoes, and you unwittingly slipped them on, chances are you wouldn't notice.
When I was a mere lad of about six, growing up in downtown Toronto, there was a Chinese fish and chip shop a block and a half from our home. Whenever you were within half a block of the place, you'd get hungry as that wonderful aroma accented by malt vinegar wafted in every direction. They served your order in a firm paper cone, wrapped in a larger newspaper cone from the previous day's news, I guess, and you got a little wooden stick with one end sharpened with which to eat it. What a deal--free reading material while you eat your lunch!
The fries were easy to eat with that stick, but the fish was another kettle of fish. Being very poor at the time, it was almost never that I got to enjoy any of the fish the place served. Matter of fact, on those rare occasions that I even got to taste the fries, one order was usually split between me and a friend or my brother and I. The fish I got to enjoy was never anything more than a small piece from a charitable friend.
The price back then?-- .10 for fries and .25 for fish and chips. No, it wasn't the 18th century.
Getting back to the crux of the matter...they are driving me to produce my own food. And don't think I won't. I will be starting a vegetable garden next spring and I mean to grow every vegetable I like that I can coax to grow in my climate. That could mean as many as thirty varieties. I'll keep you posted.
I suggest you all consider doing the same. It's time we stopped being slaves to anyone who wants to charge 50 times what they paid for something. Oh, and you should also plant fruit trees/berry bushes, etc.
Next, I'll work on trying to get off the grid and any other municipal services I can.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Capitalism gone mad!
At the little supermarket across the road, they sometimes feature cases of 24, 30 or 32 bottles of water for $2.49 or $2.99. A good price if one ignores the fact that it is only water, and that you can scoop up the stuff from just about anywhere you see the 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons (326 million trillion gallons) of the stuff (roughly 1,260,000,000,000,000,000,000 litres). These particular bottles are 500 ml. (half a litre). For the many unwashed reading this, you can think of it as about half a quart.
That works out to less than .10 a bottle. Let's assume for purposes of this discussion that it is a fair price. Or, if you like we can double that price and go with .20 a bottle. Now, I am a frequent visitor to a certain sports venue, and I happen to know that this same size bottle is sold there for...hold your breath...$3. Outrageous! Surely, as a business, they can purchase in bulk for less than the everyday price the public pays at grocery stores.
Even assuming .20 for their cost, that means that they are realizing a profit of over 93%. If car dealers were jacking up prices as much, that $30,000 car you have your eye on might have a sticker price that reads $500,000.
Now, for the piece de resistance. My sister, recently returned from a pleasant adventure to Niagara Falls, where she visited a popular tourist trap, told me that a bottle of water was going for $5. That's right, folks. That same little bottle that might not be enough to satisfy your thirst on a hot summer's day, that is worth about .20, is sold for $5. Buy for twenty cents...sell for five dollars. Nice gig if you can get it. Or should I say "sham"?
Why do our governments allow this gouging? I'll tell you why. Government is no longer in the business of protecting or serving the people. They have switched sides and now are in cahoots with the elite, powerful and wealthy. Anything it does that remotely appears to benefit ordinary people is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the true nature of its workings.
The time has come for us to take back our power. And the robber barons wonder what all the fuss is about on Wall Street and anywhere else they operate. Join one of the many protests and demand an end to the ever-growing gap between rich and poor.
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That works out to less than .10 a bottle. Let's assume for purposes of this discussion that it is a fair price. Or, if you like we can double that price and go with .20 a bottle. Now, I am a frequent visitor to a certain sports venue, and I happen to know that this same size bottle is sold there for...hold your breath...$3. Outrageous! Surely, as a business, they can purchase in bulk for less than the everyday price the public pays at grocery stores.
Even assuming .20 for their cost, that means that they are realizing a profit of over 93%. If car dealers were jacking up prices as much, that $30,000 car you have your eye on might have a sticker price that reads $500,000.
Now, for the piece de resistance. My sister, recently returned from a pleasant adventure to Niagara Falls, where she visited a popular tourist trap, told me that a bottle of water was going for $5. That's right, folks. That same little bottle that might not be enough to satisfy your thirst on a hot summer's day, that is worth about .20, is sold for $5. Buy for twenty cents...sell for five dollars. Nice gig if you can get it. Or should I say "sham"?
Why do our governments allow this gouging? I'll tell you why. Government is no longer in the business of protecting or serving the people. They have switched sides and now are in cahoots with the elite, powerful and wealthy. Anything it does that remotely appears to benefit ordinary people is nothing more than a smokescreen to hide the true nature of its workings.
The time has come for us to take back our power. And the robber barons wonder what all the fuss is about on Wall Street and anywhere else they operate. Join one of the many protests and demand an end to the ever-growing gap between rich and poor.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Half off Brazilian wax
That was the subject line of an e-mail I got from Groupon. Hey, if I'm going to get a Brazilian wax, I want it all off.
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Sunday 4 September 2011
Yeti the farm dog nurses 14 piglets in Cuba
CAMAGUEY, CUBA — Yeti the dog already had a litter of pups to care for when the piglets adopted her as a second mom.
Ever since then, the Cuban farm dog has been pulling double-duty, nursing not just her own young but also the 14 swine.
Farmer Mannorkys Santamaria said the piglets also take milk from their mothers, but when they see Yeti, they run to her for a meal. On a recent day the young porkers followed her around the farm as if she were their real mother.
“No one imposed this on the dog,” Santamaria said. “The piglets discovered this on their own and began nursing with her when they turned 15 days old.”
Full Story.
This is socialism in nature. If the dog were an American Pit Bull Terrier, she'd have starved her offspring and instead sold her milk on the open market at cut-throat prices that only Great Danes and King Shepherds can afford and move into a condo in Manhattan.
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Ever since then, the Cuban farm dog has been pulling double-duty, nursing not just her own young but also the 14 swine.
Farmer Mannorkys Santamaria said the piglets also take milk from their mothers, but when they see Yeti, they run to her for a meal. On a recent day the young porkers followed her around the farm as if she were their real mother.
“No one imposed this on the dog,” Santamaria said. “The piglets discovered this on their own and began nursing with her when they turned 15 days old.”
Full Story.
This is socialism in nature. If the dog were an American Pit Bull Terrier, she'd have starved her offspring and instead sold her milk on the open market at cut-throat prices that only Great Danes and King Shepherds can afford and move into a condo in Manhattan.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Thursday 1 September 2011
Silly politician. Names are for people.
You'd think that with all their millions stolen from the people that they'd buy themselves a real name. WTF kind of "name" is "Mitt"??? I've seen and heard plenty of stupid politician names, so here's just a sampling:
Young Boozer (No doubt it'll soon change to Middleaged Skirt-Chaser.)
Krystal Ball (I'm sure Ball has been seen with Weiner at one time or another.)
Frank Schmuck (Finally, some truth in politics.)
Mark Reckless (Aren't all politicians related to this guy?)
Philip Forgit (Can't get it done legally? Forgit!)
Janelle Lawless (Circuit Judge - what else would she be?)
Dick Swett (Er...never mind.)
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Young Boozer (No doubt it'll soon change to Middleaged Skirt-Chaser.)
Krystal Ball (I'm sure Ball has been seen with Weiner at one time or another.)
Frank Schmuck (Finally, some truth in politics.)
Mark Reckless (Aren't all politicians related to this guy?)
Philip Forgit (Can't get it done legally? Forgit!)
Janelle Lawless (Circuit Judge - what else would she be?)
Dick Swett (Er...never mind.)
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Sunday 28 August 2011
Saturday 27 August 2011
What's in a name?
Is anyone else fond of the name of this thoroughbred horse?
Phenomenal Lass
Owner: Four And One Syndicate (mgr: R Holz)
5yo b Mare
Sire: Country Reel (USA)
Dam: Phenomenal
Dam Sire: Canny Lad
Trainer: Joseph Pride (Warwick Farm)
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Phenomenal Lass
Owner: Four And One Syndicate (mgr: R Holz)
5yo b Mare
Sire: Country Reel (USA)
Dam: Phenomenal
Dam Sire: Canny Lad
Trainer: Joseph Pride (Warwick Farm)
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Friday 26 August 2011
Fun on the boards
I rarely post at political message boards anymore, but I just came across a thread I particpated in and which I found to be quite amusing, even if in a very childish way...
A conservatard (my pet name for them):
Conservatard:
What makes you think I have not already. Ask yourself how many liberals have disapeared in the last 4 years. Wonder where they went.
A liberal:
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A conservatard (my pet name for them):
If we do not reduce spending and the national debt the rest of the world will devalue our dollar and our ratings which will cause the complete collapse of the US. That is what Obama and the liberals are trying to do which is what the rest of us are trying to stop.
Me:
By antagonizing liberals? Good plan. Wouldn't it work better if you stopped being a coward and killed some?
Conservatard:
What makes you think I have not already. Ask yourself how many liberals have disapeared in the last 4 years. Wonder where they went.
Into your momma's vag?
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Tuesday 23 August 2011
Ripped from the headlines
Canadian military developing stealth snowmobile
I kid you not. I'm including a link to the story at the bottom of this posting.
Updated: Sun Aug. 21 2011 11:20:02 AM
The Canadian Press
The Department of National Defence plans to develop a new stealth snowmobile for covert military operations in Canada's Arctic, with $550,000 set aside to build a prototype.The Canadian Press
Apparently, this is the Canadian government's idea of "beefing up" military might in the Arctic.
Since coming to power, the Conservatives have gradually increased the Canadian Forces' presence in the resource-rich Arctic. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made annual trips to the region, where he's appeared in carefully orchestrated photo-ops on ice floes as jets screamed overhead.
A government spokeswoman could not immediately provide information as to why the military would need snowmobiles for clandestine operations.
I did a little research on this subject and I found that one prototype has already been built and delivered to the Canadian government for trial. Despite the project's top secret status, a leak has posted this single image of the vehicle on the web.
Full Story
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Monday 22 August 2011
It's official
I've gone completely around the bend.
Today, when I got near my kitchen garbage container and smelled that awful smell, the first thing I thought was "How nice--tens of millions of microbes are feasting on my refuse". There may still be some hope for me, though, as my second thought was "I wish their farts didn't smell so bad".
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Today, when I got near my kitchen garbage container and smelled that awful smell, the first thing I thought was "How nice--tens of millions of microbes are feasting on my refuse". There may still be some hope for me, though, as my second thought was "I wish their farts didn't smell so bad".
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Tuesday 10 May 2011
Talk about a sugar high
Hundreds of people turned out today in Toronto to witness the construction of the world's largest ice cream cake.
Guinness World Records was on hand at Dundas Square as the 10,130.35-kilogram cake was created.
A forklift brought pallets of vanilla ice cream into the square as 22 workers from Dairy Queen built and iced the cake.
Full Story
Note: A kilo is 2.2 pounds, so those whose countries continue to refuse to join the modern world, double the weight above and add 10%.
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Wednesday 13 April 2011
We're finally getting a real football team
For several years, National Football League fans in the Greater Toronto Area have been fighting for an NFL expansion team. Although it seems any expansion plans are on the backburner due to a possible lockout this coming season, sports fans are getting a different kind of football team.
The LFL announced Wednesday that it is branching out to Canada and expanding its teams from 10 to 15, according to the Toronto Sun. Toronto will be one of the five cities to get a team this autumn and will play against Eastern Conference teams Baltimore Charm, Cleveland Crush, Orlando Fantasy, Philadelphia Passion and Tampa Breeze.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/305619#ixzz1JRtikjQh
Did they purposely lace the descriptions with suggestive terms or is it just me? Is a "punishing blow" a good thing or bad? Will they someday compile a video of the LFL's Greatest Hits? Say the last two words three times fast.
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Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/305619#ixzz1JRtikjQh
Did they purposely lace the descriptions with suggestive terms or is it just me? Is a "punishing blow" a good thing or bad? Will they someday compile a video of the LFL's Greatest Hits? Say the last two words three times fast.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Saturday 2 April 2011
Thursday 31 March 2011
Molson Canadian Beer commericals
Some of my favourites:
Embedding not allowed on this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y09YOkVmGg0
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Embedding not allowed on this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y09YOkVmGg0
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Thursday 24 March 2011
It's time to play
Guess The Nationality!
American?
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American?
Swiss ?
Spanish ?
French?
Brazilian?
Italian?
Scroll down for answer...
Surprise! POLISH! Scroll down for answer...
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On this, my birthday...
...the forecast is for bright sunshine, followed by bright sunshine, followed by...
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Wednesday 23 March 2011
Public Service Announcement
I'm so glad that the same dumbasses who can program a computer virus attack couldn't spell "shit" or compose a simple sentence if their lives depended on it. We'd be in big trouble, otherwise. Case in point: I just received an e-mail with the subject line "If your over Forty it is time to Secure yourFamily!"
The first "your" should be "you're", "Forty", "Secure" and "Family" should not be capitalized, and there should be a space between "your" and "Family".
If you're not yet convinced that this e-mail came from a snot-nosed kid in his mom's basement, ask yourself this: Why would I entrust a company who can't produce basic English with my family's security?
Inside, there's more of the same gibberish. And if that doesn't seal the deal, does the source sound like a legitimate insurance company? Namely, XnDkionj@knFbEc.com
There's even more stupidity that gives the scam away, but I don't want to help the dumbasses too much by pointing out their idiocy. Give it up guys. You're better suited to asking "Want fries with that?" And you might also escape the fate of spending eternity in Hell.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
The first "your" should be "you're", "Forty", "Secure" and "Family" should not be capitalized, and there should be a space between "your" and "Family".
If you're not yet convinced that this e-mail came from a snot-nosed kid in his mom's basement, ask yourself this: Why would I entrust a company who can't produce basic English with my family's security?
Inside, there's more of the same gibberish. And if that doesn't seal the deal, does the source sound like a legitimate insurance company? Namely, XnDkionj@knFbEc.com
There's even more stupidity that gives the scam away, but I don't want to help the dumbasses too much by pointing out their idiocy. Give it up guys. You're better suited to asking "Want fries with that?" And you might also escape the fate of spending eternity in Hell.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Wednesday 2 March 2011
Stuff that doesn't make sense
The Toronto Raptors and the New Jersey Nets of the NBA (National Basketball Association) are having a two-game series in London, England this weekend. My question is...
Why would the league send over two of the very worst teams if their aim is to garner interest???
Their records are 17 and 43, and 17 and 44. I don't think it matters which belongs to whom.
Maybe the league hopes their plane will go down. That would be a quick and inexpensive way to improve league play dramatically. If it happened, those teetotallers across the pond just might take an interest in our basketball.
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Why would the league send over two of the very worst teams if their aim is to garner interest???
Their records are 17 and 43, and 17 and 44. I don't think it matters which belongs to whom.
Maybe the league hopes their plane will go down. That would be a quick and inexpensive way to improve league play dramatically. If it happened, those teetotallers across the pond just might take an interest in our basketball.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Tuesday 1 March 2011
On the last day of Black History Month
Jackie Robinson was honoured as the man who broke the colour barrier in Major League Baseball as the first African-American player in the league. Ironically, the tribute did not occur on American soil. In fact, the accolades weren't specifically bestowed on Robinson, but rather to the fine people who welcomed and supported Jackie during the virulent and violent times that permeated the United States in that era.
In the off-season of 1945, Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and was relegated to their Triple-A farm team, the Montreal Royals. Spring training for the Royals took place in Daytona Beach, Florida. Robinson's presence was controversial in racially charged Florida. As he was not allowed to stay with his teammates at the team hotel, he lodged instead at the home of a local black politician. In Sanford, Florida, the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson wasn't taken off the Roylas' rsoter. As a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach. In Jacksonville, the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director. In DeLand, a scheduled day game was called off, supposedly because of faulty electrical lighting.
Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example), the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson. Jackie's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an amazing figure by International League (Triple-A) standards.
Wiki
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In the off-season of 1945, Jackie Robinson was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and was relegated to their Triple-A farm team, the Montreal Royals. Spring training for the Royals took place in Daytona Beach, Florida. Robinson's presence was controversial in racially charged Florida. As he was not allowed to stay with his teammates at the team hotel, he lodged instead at the home of a local black politician. In Sanford, Florida, the police chief threatened to cancel games if Robinson wasn't taken off the Roylas' rsoter. As a result, Robinson was sent back to Daytona Beach. In Jacksonville, the stadium was padlocked shut without warning on game day, by order of the city's Parks and Public Property director. In DeLand, a scheduled day game was called off, supposedly because of faulty electrical lighting.
Although he often faced hostility while on road trips (the Royals were forced to cancel a Southern exhibition tour, for example), the Montreal fan base enthusiastically supported Robinson. Jackie's presence on the field was a boon to attendance; more than one million people went to games involving Robinson in 1946, an amazing figure by International League (Triple-A) standards.
Wiki
After a spring training in the segregated South, newlywed Rachel Robinson went to look at an apartment in a white neighborhood in Montreal. A French-Canadian woman who spoke English welcomed her to the home.
''She received me so pleasantly,'' Jackie Robinson's widow recalled. ''Then she poured tea for me and agreed to rent the apartment to me furnished and she insisted I use her things -- like her linens and her china. It was an extraordinary welcome to Canada.''
The quaint Montreal duplex that served as sanctuary to the Robinsons during the early part of his struggle to break baseball's racial barrier is being recognized by the U.S. government. That chapter in American civil rights will be celebrated Monday when U.S. diplomats unveil a commemorative plaque at the apartment the couple called home in the summer of 1946.
The event will be attended by the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Montreal's mayor and Robinson's daughter as part of Black History Month.
Robinson, now 88, recalls arriving in Montreal after having survived the Jim Crow South during spring training in Florida.
There they were met with racism at every turn: on whites-only flights, in hotels and restaurants and ballparks. In some cities, they were chased out of town. The couple was twice bumped off airplanes while trying to get to Daytona.
News Story
"This is especially a special moment," said Sharon Robinson, the couple's daughter, who is vice-chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. "I had never been to the home where my parents lived, so this is an emotional experience.
"My mother and father had such positive memories about their time in Montreal," she said. "To have it recognized where they lived in a neighbourhood that welcomed them and supported them then is quite emotional. I'm from Chicago and baseball was a very important part of my life growing up and this part of baseball was particularly important to everybody in the United States," Jacobson said. "So it's an honour to be here and to be able to celebrate this and in particular to be able to celebrate what the people of Montreal did and what they showed to Americans at a time when we weren't particularly as tolerant as we ought to have been."
News Story
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Sunday 20 February 2011
Q & A's from around the web
IM in love with my girlfriend so much is there away i can show her how much i love her
Im 13 but dont under estimate me. My boyfriend took me out to the mall and said, "pick a store, any store than pick whatever you want. I don't care how much it costs." and remember this is all at the age of 13. Do something like what my bf did.
Isn't it nice to know that even at the tender age of 13, some youngsters are already so knowledgeable in the ways of love that they know how to buy someone's affection (or sell theirs)? Just heartwarming, isn't it? Judging by the grammar, too many young people are spending more time at the mall than at school.
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Im 13 but dont under estimate me. My boyfriend took me out to the mall and said, "pick a store, any store than pick whatever you want. I don't care how much it costs." and remember this is all at the age of 13. Do something like what my bf did.
Isn't it nice to know that even at the tender age of 13, some youngsters are already so knowledgeable in the ways of love that they know how to buy someone's affection (or sell theirs)? Just heartwarming, isn't it? Judging by the grammar, too many young people are spending more time at the mall than at school.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Thursday 17 February 2011
Wednesday 16 February 2011
It's celebrity match time!
You, dear reader, have the opportunity to choose the best match for this week's celebrity, Kurt Cobain's widow, Courtney Cox.
Here she is in all her gory--I mean glory.
So, which of the following is her best match?
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Here she is in all her gory--I mean glory.
So, which of the following is her best match?
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Friday 21 January 2011
Caribou Barbie
Click on image to enlarge.
Note: If you don't "get it", ask someone to splain it to you.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Note: If you don't "get it", ask someone to splain it to you.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Monday 17 January 2011
Friday 7 January 2011
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