American History X

I just finished watching American History X and am once again struck by the message this powerful movie portrays. Summed up in the final liturgy of the newly reformed little brother of the main character of the movie is the phrase "Hatred is baggage and life is to short to be pissed off all the time" is such a truth in my life. My whole life I have been surrounded by angry people with baggage dragging them down and causing them untold stress and damage to themselves and the relationships that they have with the people around them. I try to live my life as positive as possible and do my best to raise my children to be as aware of the damage both to themselves and collaterally that a racist and angry ideology presents.

I find it to be quite sad how even in today's world, attitudes and beliefs such as the neo-Nazism that so pollutes the family at the center of the movie, abound today in so many of the indiscriminate comments and seemingly benign actions of so many around me. It never ceases to amaze me the number of people in and around my life who will swear up and down that they are not racist or prejudice and yet can still off-handedly make snide remarks about a person's character that are fully based on the race into which they were born. What I can not understand is how a comment such as X race cannot drive, or W race are less intelligent than Y, or Z race are all racist people who hate the G race people are not seen as nothing but blatantly racist in nature by the people uttering them. Being a person who becomes very quickly offended and uncomfortable by such remarks I just do not get it.

Even in my daughters very multicultural school, where respect for self and others is an integral part of the curriculum above and beyond what any school I have seen before, there is a nasty undercurrent of racism that is starting to rear its ugly head. One may point fingers in this case at the children uttering the comments but the reality is that they heard these things outside of the school environment first. How sad that a parent would see themselves as having done no wrong in polluting their innocent child's developing mind, setting them up for a future of anger, distrust and potential hatred of what they do not understand. My hope for my child here is that she recognizes the pain that even the most innocuous of comments makes and refuses to be lead into believing that this type of behaviour is acceptable in any way. My greatest hope is that she will flourish into the type of young woman of whom I can be proud, one who stands up for her beliefs and will not accept such behaviour as common place. If she can be the type of person who is willing to say not me, and defend a friend who is subject to this type of subtle discrimination than I can stand up and say I have done a good job raising her. If tolerance and acceptance is not a crucial part of a child's developing identity, then their future can only be bleak at best. Success in the eyes of the world is meaningless if it comes at the cost of carrying the baggage of hatred with you throughout life.

In Canada we are blessed to have a wide variety of cultures and people. It is this variety of which the foundation of Canada is based at it is a thing that should be celebrated and not shunned. It would be a wonderful place to call home indeed if everyone could accept each and every one of us as a part of the whole and stop trying to fight for what they believe they are entitled to. We are all entitled after all to the same things, peace, happiness, acceptance and a chance to live a good life. Discrimination, racism and intolerance cannot allow for these to be accessible.

Winnipeg and Winter Driving

Winter has definitely hit the Peg despite what the calender says. White, fluffy, cold, wet crap as far as the eye can see. With winter in Winnipeg invariably comes a nasty, irritable, need to smack stupid drivers in the back of the head that becomes almost overwhelming in its intensity whenever one hits the road in our quest for enlightenment, or maybe just to get to work. It always amazes at the beginning of the snow season how many people seem to have iq's that mysteriously drop a dozen or so points and they completely forget how to drive. Its not like this is the first time that Winnipeg has been bombarded by snow - we live locked in a deep freeze 6 months or more out of the year.

Sometimes when driving one must just shake their head in amazement at the utter stupidity in the world and laugh at some of the comical errors in judgement one sees.

Irony has caught up to many drivers I have passed on the roads in the last two days and I have to say that I giggled more than once in my travels. Yesterday for instance I saw a Boyd Autobody car that generally is usually used as a courtesy car for people having body work on their cars done crashed close to my home into a tree. Apart from the not-so-awesome parking job I had to giggle to myself about the irony of crashing the courtesy car someone was driving after more than likely crashing their own car. Maybe this person needs to take the bus? I am just saying if you suck at winter driving that bad then say hello to transit tom!!

I have to also say I take secret pride in passing people stuck in the ruts at a controlled skid watching their anguished faces as I skid past them in my Neon - the look on the driver of the 4x4 I did that to today was PRICELESS!! Again, maybe winter driving wasn't his thing? Seriously, it must be pretty humbling when you get your 4x4 stuck in the middle of the road big man that you are just to have a little blond woman in a crappy little NEON have NO trouble what-so-ever passing you! Ah the joys of winter driving! I can honestly say its the best part of winter in my mind and way too much fun. Happy driving Winnipeg!

Dylan O'Connors or PortageReview

Dylan O'Connors Irish Pub on Portage avenue  inWinnipeg is a friendly little pub with a distinctive if not stereotypical Irish feel. This past Tuesday evening, a few people and myself had occasion to go to Dylan's for the evening to check out some of the local bands. The evening was enjoyable and Dylan's left a decent impression.

This little pub's staff are quick and courteous in establish their clientele's wants and gave of an air of professionalism rarely seen in today's night scene establishments. There was no single moment during the evening where any of us in attendance had to look for a server or wait for service at the bar. Staff were prompt, courteous and efficient as well as being genuinely friendly.

The atmosphere in Dylan's is for the most part a comfortable one that makes for a decent meeting place amongst friends. The classic pub feel works well without feeling garish or overdone. There was one downside however and that is that the temperature within the pub was highly unsatisfactory and was extremely cold. Given that we are in a very cold city this is a key factor in the comfort level of ones clients and most likely needs to be addressed.

Overall the evening was a good one and the atmosphere was enjoyable and I would consider visiting this particular establishment again.

Peggermom's Score = 3 out of 5

The music options

Eva and Me

In 5 days of having Netflix I believe my family has watched about 15 movies on Netflix proving definitively that the minimal cost of 7.99 a month is well worth the price. In fact we have actually reduced our cable package down to basic because we don't seem to have the time to watch cable anymore what with the variety of options available on Netflix. The only downside at this point with Netflix is that the selection of movies is a little off from what the mainstream assortment of available titles is on MTS or Shaw's pay-per-view channels or from movie rental stores such as Rogers or Blockbuster. However in saying that, there is a selection of movies that although not necessarily big-screen hits are non the less very entertaining. What I appreciate the most is the wide selection of family appropriate movies and TV series available such as Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Train episodes. I thankfully have a reason to hibernate this winter.

The last movie that we watched as a family on Netflix was Marley and Me. The lead character in the movie is a lovable, disaster stricken, bull in a china shop type destructive Labrador named Marley. What I found most endearing about this particular mutt were the similarities to our own tornado on four legs Eva. Eva is a 24 pound whirlwind of destruction that must chew and destroy or fail to thrive or so it seems. Lessons that I have learned from my dog include the following; vitamin E cream makes for a great laxative, photo-albums taste great, chairs can be pushed up to the stove to be climbed on so that one little mutt can lick out the frying pans after Sunday breakfast, rawhide's are wonderful and leather couches taste just as good, cats are to be chased, dogs on TV need to be barked at and are definitely hiding somewhere in the speakers of the stereo hooked up to it, likewise babies crying on TV are also hiding in the speakers and must be found, crayons, balloons, tinfoil, garbage, socks, socks, and more socks the dirtier the better, pens, pencils, hair brushes, tooth brushes, wrapping paper, china cabinets, shoes especially flip flops, pillows, wooden rocking chairs, and dry pasta taste great. One other lesson I have learned from this little master of destruction is one of the main reasons that we will have her for the rest of her life is that  my children can do no wrong with her and will always be forgiven for sitting on her, pulling her ears and yanking on her tail. As far as this mom is concerned however, the fact that this little dog will be the perfect alarm to notify me when my children are up to no good however is the ultimate advantage to having this particular dog. My children cannot go near the front or back doors without the dog crying up a storm and if they try to go outside she barks her crazy little head off. Good luck sneaking out in the future kids!

Much as the family in the movie Marley and Me could not imagine their lives without Marley, despite his idiosyncrasies and destructive yet loving nature, neither could I imagine not having our little dog that we refer to as "the Goat" in our lives. Having something such as a little dog that knows how to love unconditionally in the life of a family is a wonderful experience and worth having irregardless of the issues that come with dog ownership. Besides, by the time Eva stops eating the furniture in my house, IKEA will be in Winnipeg and I will have the perfect excuse to buy new furniture.