Some people can be so stupid

This apparently is a recording of a woman who called the police when she couldn't get a cheeseburger made to her satisfaction at Burger King. Only in America.


http://view.break.com/148292 - Watch more free videos

The police dispatcher has to be commended for putting up with this crap as long as she did.

The best line: "What are we protecting you from? Is this a harmful cheeseburger or something?"

Mean kitty song

This is one of the best videos I've seen on YouTube. The guy, Cory Williams, is IMHO brilliant!



For more of his videos, visit SMP films on YouTube

My humps

On April Fool's Day this year, Alanis Morissette posted this parody video of the song "My Humps" by Black Eyed Peas. Hilarious. And I can't get her version out of my head!!




And of course, the original:



YouTube is the most addictive site on the Web.

A tribute to Tammy Faye

I found out today that Tammy Faye Messner (formerly Bakker) passed away from cancer, and I’m a little sad about it. I had never thought too much about her, dismissing her as the raccoon-eyed teary wife of a televangelist. I’ve never had a high opinion of religion, mainly because it seems a lot of people use it as a weapon to promote hatred. They appear to have lost sight of the message that Christ (and other prophets) taught, namely that of love, compassion and tolerance for one’s fellow human beings. That’s why I pretty much abandoned religion for spirituality.

But Tammy Faye was different.

My first real exposure to Tammy Faye was on season two of VH1’s The Surreal Life. I admit that I only watched to see how she would be able to interact with the likes of Ron Jeremy, one of the most famous male porn stars of all time. I expected that a former television preacher would have a tough time relating to him and the other housemates. Boy, was I wrong. Tammy Faye turned out to be one of the most wonderful people I have ever seen. She was kind, compassionate, tolerant and accepting. She gave Christians a good name for a change. I subsequently found out that even at the height of the PTL Club, she steadfastly refused to condemn homosexuality. She even dared to bring people living with AIDS on stage to pray for their health and well-being. She was a truly decent human being and the world has lost an advocate for tolerance and understanding.

As I said, I’m not a religious person, but I do respect those that try to spread the true message religion attempts to convey. So it with deepest respect of her belief and her life that I offer this sentiment:

Tammy Faye, may God keep you in His loving arms and shine His divine light on you for all time. God bless you and goodbye.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Ch-ch-changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can’t trace time

Changes by David Bowie

I’ve changed a lot over the last few years. I’ve gone from working in factory fixing machinery and making parts to doing web development in a corporate environment. I’ve gone from a “vanilla” kind of guy to someone who likes to explore the kinkier side of life. I’ve had some people leave my life and others come into it. Through it all, I’ve tried to remain true to who I am – a easy-going, caring, compassionate and forgiving person. Sometimes it hasn’t been easy and I’ve lost sight of myself, but I can honestly say that I have rediscovered my true nature and have made a resolution to stay that way.

One of the more interesting aspects of my recent turn is that I am quite suddenly very happy. I credit a few things for this: I’ve quit drugs, I’ve removed some negative influences in my life and introduced some very positive ones. I’ve also made efforts to move my career in a direction that suits my talents and strengths. The main reason I am happy, however, is because I made a conscious decision to be exactly that. I used to sit on my sofa doing nothing more than smoking pot, watching TV and bemoaning the fact that I was so alone, but not actually doing anything about it. That changed a few weeks ago when I decided enough was enough. I truly believe we are all architects of our personal realities and it was this thought that inspired me to make some alterations to mine. It was either that or become a lonely stoner with no life and that was simply unacceptable. I wish I could tell you that there is some magic formula to happiness, but there isn’t. One simply has to decide. After all, sitting around getting high is a choice and so is getting out into the world and enjoying it. And having been excruciatingly familiar with the former, I chose the latter.

I don’t want to give the impression that I’m a walking anti-drug campaign because I’m not. Drugs affect different people in different ways. For me, it sucks away any motivation I have and leaves me a lump on the couch. And while that can be fun once in a while, it tends to get a little old when you do it 7 days a week. It’s also damned expensive, so the choice for me was obvious, but that may not be the right choice for everyone. Only you know what’s right for you.

What I am saying is that if you find yourself unhappy in your life and don’t know what to do, try changing it. I can’t tell you exactly how to change it, since everyone is different, but I can tell you that if you don’t opt for something different, you’ll be pretty much stuck in a rut. And that is not a good place to be.

Change is never easy, especially the older you get. But think about this: what have you got to lose besides misery?

I know. I’ve been there and I’ve come out of it. Things may not be perfect in my life – how boring would THAT be – but they’re definitely headed in the right direction. There’s a bright light in my life at the end of the proverbial tunnel which is a lot closer these days than it’s been in a long time.

And I’m very happy about that.

My secret passion

I have a secret passion. It’s a passion that’s shared by a surprising number of gay men, but you don’t hear about it very often. When we do talk about it, we tend to speak in hushed tones, fearful that someone may hear us and thus be subject to ridicule and derision. I’ve had this passion since I was a young boy, and it’s about time I come out of the closet. It’s … Professional Wrestling.

My earliest memory of pro wrestling was being introduced to it by my best friend on Saturday afternoon television. I think I was around 5 years old and I was instantly hooked. There was something about two – or more – sweaty men, wearing next to nothing, grappling with each other that was utterly fascinating to me. Perhaps a precursor of things to come later in life, or maybe I was gay even then? Whatever the reason, I completely bought into the wrestling myth that everything I saw was real. Of course, I also believed in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus back then too. This was also a time when the wrestlers and promoters perpetuated that myth much more stringently than they do today. We’re talking about the early 70’s here, so it wasn’t until years later that Vince McMahon, then Owner and now Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), publicly admitted wrestling outcomes were scripted. Yet that knowledge did nothing to lessen my passion, mainly because I had already figured that out. Like, duh! “You just rammed your opponent’s head into a steel ring post and he doesn’t have a mark to show for it.” It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the move was faked. The biggest thrill as a kid though, was the fact that wrestling shows actually came to my hometown. I grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario where there really wasn’t much to do, so when the show came, everybody went. I have very fond memories of seeing some of the legends of the industry – Hulk Hogan, Mad Dog Vachon and best of all, Andre the Giant. Andre was a man you simply had to see in real life to appreciate how huge he was.

Now I tend to get more enjoyment from following the inner workings of the industry and trying to separate fact from fiction. That’s not the only reason I enjoy wrestling, however. I find it enjoyable on a number of levels from my admiration for the incredibly athletic feats that modern wrestlers exhibit, to the simple eye candy value. Search for images of Randy Orton on the web to see what I mean about that last point or have a look at the picture above. The man looks more like a gay porn star than a pro wrestler. The main reason I enjoy wrestling, however, is that I consider it a civilized form of entertainment.

I’ll let that last statement sink in for a moment.

Before you think I’ve gone completely off my rocker, consider this: In sports like boxing and ultimate fighting the goal is to beat the living bejesus out of your opponent until he or she is unable to continue. On the other hand, professional wrestlers undergo extensive training to ensure neither “combatant” gets injured. Injuries do happen in wrestling, but more often than not it is the wrestler that ends up hurting himself through miscalculation and error. Pro wrestling is a fictional depiction of violence, not unlike a Bruce Willis Die Hard movie. When it comes right down to it, I would rather watch two guys pretend to pummel each other into submission than watch two guys actually do it. I can rest assured that when a wrestling match is over, neither men have been injured and these mortal enemies will most likely end up going for a beer together.

All is not rosy in the world of pro wrestling, however. In 2004, USA TODAY published an article that stated wrestlers are 20 times more likely to die before the age of 45 than professional football players and 12 times more likely to die from heart disease than Americans aged 22 to 45. Steroid, painkiller and illicit drug use seem to play a large role in the deaths. Pressures on wrestlers to attain and maintain “superhero” type physiques and perform amazing feats of strength and agility force a number of these performers to put their lives at risk by using such substances. And it’s not only their lives that are at risk.

That has never been more evident than the gruesome June 25, 2007 discovery of Canadian grappler Chris Benoit, his wife and son found dead in their home in Fayetteville, Georgia. The subsequent revelation that Chris killed his wife and son before taking his own life stunned both industry insiders and fans alike. Almost immediately, steriods were blamed for the tragedy. To be completely fair, it has not been proven that “roid rage” played a role in the deaths, although that fact has not stopped the media from speculating on it, especially in light of the fact that Benoit did have steroids in his system at the time of his death. The WWE has been quick to point to their random drug testing program and that Benoit had passed a test in April 2007. The determination that the deaths occurred over the span of 2-3 days also seems to indicate this was a more deliberate and calculated act than a spontaneous one based on rage. In all likelihood, Benoit had much deeper issues and was in need of serious psychiatric help, but that's just a guess on my part.


And that's all anyone can do. Guess, because the truth is it most likely will never be known why Benoit did what he did. And that’s the toughest part to take. How could a man so respected by peers and fans alike, a man by all accounts a loving father, devoted family man, consummate professional in the business he loved and all around nice guy commit the horrendous act of strangling his wife and smothering his seven year old boy? Those of us who admired Chris Benoit are left reeling, trying to make sense of something that is inherently senseless. His actions have dealt a black eye to the wrestling world and it is truly a shame that he will be remembered in death as a monster instead of the incredible athlete and performer he was in life.

Despite the double murder – suicide, however, I will not allow this event to colour my perceptions of my favourite form of entertainment. On the July 9 episode of Larry King Live, former wrestler Bret “The Hitman” Hart stated “The actions of one man should not be allowed to taint wrestling” and I agree. I will continue to watch and will not turn my back on the “sport” I enjoy because of Benoit’s actions.

I have been a fan for over 35 years, I will continue to be a fan and for the first time in my life, I don’t care who knows it.

Now if you’ll excuse me, wrestling just came on television.

Welcome to Sykobabul

This is a blog about my thoughts regarding anything and everything. It has no theme, no structure and no defined timelines. I will post when I feel like it. My entries may be short, they may be long or somewhere in between. I really don't care if anyone reads this, as I'm doing it for me and no-one else.

I've found that writing is a great way to get all of the thoughts in my head out of it so that I can, hopefully, get a good night's sleep for a change, instead of lying awake at night thinking about my day, my love life, my interests, my worries, my fears and anything else that goes on in my head. Which these days seems to be a lot.

In case you're wondering, Sykobabul is my online screen name/secret identity and is simply an alternate spelling of the word "psychobabble" which means:

1 : a predominantly metaphorical language for expressing one's feelings
2 a : psychological jargon
2 b : trite or simplistic language derived from psychotherapy

Source: Merriam-Webster Online

Since I am an amateur observer of human behaviour, i.e. psychology, the name seemed appropriate. If you want to know more about me - and why wouldn't you? - you can have a look at my profile. There isn't much there yet, but there will be more as time goes on.

If you do happen to be reading one of my posts and would like to comment, feel free. I might even respond. All I ask is that you refrain from comments like "Dude, yer fucked up!" If you want to make a comment like that, make it intelligently. :)

One final note: I may from time to time use language or write about topics that may be offensive to some people. If you run across something that offends you in one of my posts, you have two options. You can start up a debate with me in the comments sections, or you can exercise your right to self-censorship and click the big red X in the upper right hand corner of this window. Your choice.

Let the games begin.