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.

Just how dumb does Wal-Mart think we are?

For the record I do not like Wal-Mart, I think they are very much like some huge corporate vacuum cleaner.  They descend on cities and small towns and begin gobbling up everything in sight.

By virtue of its large size they can demand concessions from suppliers, pretty much guaranteeing that they have a rock bottom low price on pretty much everything.  Local businesses, especially in small towns cannot compete, the net effect is the desertification of the local economy effectively turning a once thriving local economy into a generic Wal-Mart town.

This has been well documented around the globe, along with the other atrocities committed by this mega-corporation, which I do not have the time or patience to list here.

However, I did indeed find myself in one of those soul sucking mega marts just the other day looking for something that I could not seem to find anywhere else, such is life.  Dar and I were walking down the aisle and came across a couple staring with a combination of horror and bemusement at one of those ubiquitous “Rollback” signs that dot the Wal-Martian landscape.

This one proudly proclaimed that prices along with human dignity are subject to strange forces inside Wal-Mart.  Apparently a “Rollback” includes raising prices.

Rollback Sign: Note the previous price in Yellow $89.97