Beer is Good, God is Great, People are Crazy!!

This song pretty much sums up my thoughts on the whole religion thing that we talked about the other day thought I would share it with y’all.

Poverty with a human face.

Hi people.

I’ve been a bit absent of late and I do apologize for that I gimped up my foot again and haven’t really been in the mood for self-analysis or writing in general.

However I did come across a blog post that should make you think a little bit over the holiday season.  If you give to charity please mind what you donate, don’t just clean out the cupboards.

Enough of me, I give you Ani from Ani Uncensored.

If you can over the holidays give.

Leo Mol’s Bronze Babes and Working Men

Last post I promised everyone a return trip back into Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Park.  More to the point I all but promised to show you the working men and nudes that made Leo Mol sought after sculptor the world over.

As I showed in my last post Mol had a grand love of the beauty and quiet of nature.  A very good friend of mine cared for Leo in his final years at the Taché Nursing Home where he was a resident.  In our long walks through the garden that bears his name she would speak of Leo with worried tones.  As one of the many nurses charged with his care she would often sit and visit with him, she spoke of the the way a mention of his artwork could snap him out of his haze and return a smile and razor edge to his mind as he discussed at length the processes and inspirations that brought life to his art.

I never got to meet Leo Mol personally, but like I often say Winnipeg is a small enough city to know someone through the company they keep.  In his work I could see a steady and measured hand, a quiet mind that enjoyed beauty in all of it’s forms.  A man driven and skilled enough to craft metal and glass and paint into the images that he alone saw in his minds eye.

Bronze nudes and the female form.

Family Group (1990)

Feel Free to Wish Me a Merry Christmas…Again

I must admit that this post was originally a little rant that I wrote last year in an attempt to bring back some of the spirit of Christmas.  Note I said Christmas, not the holidays.  Holidays are something that come in the summer when I go to the beach or take a long well deserved trip.

This  is Christmas time.   Chanukah has long since been celebrated and the Feast of Eid al-Adha has been enjoyed by the faithful of Allah.  So let us say with pride and love Merry Christmas to one and all.

Bob

Please feel free to wish me a Merry Christmas, not a happy x-mas, or dreadful happy holiday.  Well I may be going a little hard on the happy holiday.  You may think Bob, why won’t a happy holiday suffice?

Well I would reply it is the Christmas season, the last time I checked the Chanukah candles have been long blown out.  Don’t get me wrong I have many friends of the Hebrew Faith, and wish them a proper greeting when it is their day.

The thing that gets me riled up is that there are so many forces at work that try to simplify and dumb things down, trying to homogenize our culture as North Americans.  Other forces plead that they don’t want to offend anyone.  Ohhhh there we go offending people with a celebration of family and peace.  Better watch out!  Give me a break.

This whole “War on Christmas” thing has gone on long enough, the only people who are “offended” are by in large other “Christians”. The politically correct few, afraid to say what they believe.  Except when they strive to dumb down what little culture we have left.

Show of hands, how many of you were offended when, someone walked up to you and said Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Happy Chanukah?

All anyone is saying when they say Merry Christmas is Peace.  Let’s face it most of the Christ is long gone from Christmas these days anyways. Long ago replaced by that fat bastard Santa Claus, in trying to deliver dollars to the corporations that re-imagined Old Saint Nick, we can blame Coke for that one.

The Modern Face of Christmas

Also organized religions keep getting their hands slapped for stealing from the poor or doing other far worse things than I care to mention here today.

But we all regardless of creed or belief can do our part to keep the core of the holiday intact.  Remembering what the true meaning of Christmas is, PEACE.  If we can all keep that in our hearts our world, even for a day, could be a better place.

To all of my friends out there, Feliz Navidad, Mele Kalikimaka, Hyvaa Joulua, Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova, Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah, Joyeux Noel, Merry Christmas……. PEACE

The Year of Blogging Dangerously!

Well friends and foes, I can’t help but look at the calendar and notice that it’s been just over a year since I wrote my first post.  It’s been a year of excitement, of loss and of deep thought here at Bob’s Place.   I have been applauded and heckled.  I have laughed and cried as I sat writing for you my dedicated and slightly deranged followers.

Just One of My Adoring Fans

84 entries in this last year and if memory serves I need to wish my Mom a very happy birthday again.  “Hmmmm”  Calendar says she’s turning 29 again this year.  Oh well Happy Birthday Mom, Love You!!

Looking back at the year I would have to say that my motivation for blogging remains as strong as it was when I started this little adventure with everyone.  I feel that I have grown as a writer, self-editing is the hardest part for me.  Thanks Karen for kicking me in the ass and making me take a hard look at what I put down on the page.  We may have parted company on the wrong foot but I sure to try to put a little extra care into what gets onto my pages.

My Hunter S Thompson Phase.... I'm Much Better Now!

As I alluded, I have had loss this year.  The passing of my Father first and foremost comes to mind.  It’s going to be hard as hell not to have you around this year Dad.  I am going to miss you not sitting at the kitchen table doing your crosswords at Christmas.   But there have been good times too.  Meeting people and connecting through our love of writing and sharing gut busting laughter is a prime example.

I found out that there is a good possibility that I am actually a 50-year-old woman, and I got the chance to share a look some of the fine cuisine that is driving Winnipeggers crazy!  I got to rant and rage with you.  I left no stone unturned and opened the table to all sorts of topics.  Race relations,  health care, drug use, and environmental awareness to name but a few.

Wayne what have you done to yourself!

But it wasn’t all hard work, we got the chance to share a few laughs along the way too.  I evaded the clutches of Wayne Newton when he started to fill my dreams with dread. We celebrated my 1000th hit and I can assure you that I am well on my way to FINALLY getting 1010 hits. Ya Hooo!

Damn! I'm Going to Need That!

You got to see me jump out of a perfectly good airplane and NOT fall to my profanity laced death.  Savoured the sweet overtime victory on the road to Olympic hockey gold!  We explored the junk that passes for public art on Winnipeg streets and played a prank on lovers of soft cuddly animals everywhere.

You Wouldn't Club Me??

We went toe to toe with the Catholic Church.  Apparently Pope Benedict XVI  is a huge Star Wars fan; but doesn’t care that much for James Cameron’s Avatar.  Seems the environmental epic it hit a little too close to the mark for the Pontiff.  All of that tree hugging  and spiritual mumbo jumbo seemed to be stealing the Church’s spotlight.

Pope or Galactic Emperor??

So what does the new year hold in store for us?  Well, only time will tell.  All I know is that I feel the need for some Bulgarian music videos.   Gotta love that trashy Eastern European beat!

If any one out there speaks Bulgarian, let me know what I am watching.  Stay tuned for more hilarity!  Same Bob time. Same Bob channel.