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Sunday, March 15, 2015

The Regret Associated With Being A School Club Shunner

There's an old saying that exists that seem to describe life brilliantly.  That saying is "live life without regret".  I have no idea who originally came up with that saying though.  Maybe it was Benjamin Franklin.  Maybe it was Albert Einstein.  Maybe it was Britney Spears.  Whatever the case, all of us try to go and live our lives and regret nothing about any of the decisions that we have made in our lives.

But how many of us actually do live life without regret?

I hate to say it, but regrets?  I've had a few.

For instance, I regret not having done more in my life by the time that I turned thirty.  I know that life is not a competition (unless you're an Olympic athlete, an "American Idol" contestant, or one of those scary women from that show "Dance Moms"), and I know that everything happens for a reason.  I just sometimes have a difficult time figuring out what that reason is.  Happens to the best of us.

I regret not finishing university and getting a degree even though the program I was in was essentially a dead-end one anyway, and nothing likely would have changed much even if I had gotten that certificate.  Of course, I can always go back if I choose to, so I'm not really all that regretful about it knowing what I know now.  Truth be told, I wished that I had gone to a community college instead of a university.  I think I would have liked that set up a lot more.  And really, the only pro to a university degree is more money, and honestly as long as I had enough money to live semi-comfortably, I would be fine with a basic college education.

Hell, I regret not punching all the kids who used to tease me at recess in the nose when I was younger.  Would have likely gotten thrown out of school...but again, knowing what I know now, that actually might have been a good thing.  And, hey...maybe I wouldn't have spent so much time being a doormat or a pushover.  But, hey...some lessons take years to learn.  That was one of them.  Of course, I would only do the nose-bopping as a last resort.  And only if I were severely provoked.

Of course...that's not the only regret that I have when it comes to school.  Certainly I do wish I could have stood up to both classmates and teachers back in those days, but there was something else that I wished I had done.



I regret not taking part in more extracurricular activities.

And right off the bat, I feel like I've compromised my integrity here.  I hated school and I hated everyone in it, but yet I wished I could have taken part in more school activities?  Wouldn't I have felt the opposite?  SHOULDN'T I have felt the opposite?

Yes, I should have.  But I didn't.



Truth is, I wanted to take part in a lot more activities in school than I actually did.  Granted, I did a couple of things during my school career.  I played in the concert band, I entered the science fair a couple of times, I took part in the "Reading Buddies" program, and I took part in a couple of assemblies at school, but that was about it.

Looking back on it, it's a wonder I was even accepted to any colleges and universities at all.   Schools look at extracurricular activities more than they did when I graduated from high school fifteen years ago.  By the time I graduated high school, my extracurricular activities rounded a big fat zero.

So, here's the million dollar question.  Why didn't I just suck it up and join the school clubs?

Well, here's the million dollar answer.  I didn't fit in to any of the clubs.

I was already considered an outsider in school.  If I joined any clubs, I had the feeling that I would be completely ignored and judged, and in all likelihood, I would have dropped out after two weeks anyway.  It's so easy to look back on it now and think that I was being absolutely ridiculous and jumped to conclusions over it now.  But the teenage me was admittedly a lot more damaged than the now 33-year-old me.  I suppose only former school outcasts could really understand how I truly felt back then.

Still, I missed out on a lot of fun opportunities while I was in school by not taking part in clubs and activities, and I always regretted not doing at least one or two things for the school.  Who knows?  It may have completely changed my whole attitude towards the student body, and I very well could have enjoyed myself.  Perhaps I may have even made a couple of friends along the way.

Alas, I will never know.  But I suppose there's nothing wrong with doing a little bit of speculation over what school clubs I could have joined.

Now, right off the bat, I could eliminate any sort of activity involving any sort of athletics.  I can't dribble, shoot, kick a field goal, score a touchdown - heck, even remembering the school cheer was a challenge.  Then again, when our school had their pep rallies, I used the time to take a nap.

And, I would never join any club that involved singing.  We already established in several past posts that I can't carry a tune.

That said, here are some of the school clubs and activities that I wish I had taken part in.



PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB

Granted, the reason why I never actively took part in this club was simple.  I didn't have a camera when I was in school, and money was tight in my family, so there was really no way I could afford one.  But if I had my own camera back then, I think I would have found solace in this club.  I always was someone who liked to express themselves in a creative manner, and certainly photography would have been a great way to do exactly that.  Considering that my school never had a writer's club, photography was really the only way that I could have showed creativity.



YEARBOOK CLUB

I think that I regret not joining this club the most in school.  I always did well in desktop publishing, and really, how hard was it to assemble thousands of photos of the 800 or so students who attended high school into a convenient volume of 160 pages?  I think that it would have been a lot of work, but so rewarding in the end.  Again, I regret not joining the yearbook...but at the same time, I don't think it would have worked out.  You see...one of the members of the yearbook staff was a person who I never could stand in school.  I could only have taken so much arrogance and snobbish behaviour before I crammed a camera down their throat.  But if I could do it over again, I would have joined the staff and made this person eat their words.

(Figuratively - not literally.)



KEY CLUB

Now, Key Club was an interesting club in school.  For those of you who may not know what it was, it was a club that allowed students to showcase leadership skills through performing community service both on and off campus.  This is another club that I absolutely regret not joining.  I knew a couple of people in the club who I probably could have gotten along with and the faculty advisor was one of my favourite high school teachers and she would have more than welcomed me into the group.  But for whatever reason, I never did take part in that club.  I suppose it was really my insecurities about myself that really wrecked it for me.  The teenage me thought that if I couldn't get along with the kids at school, how the heck could I get along with members of my own community.  The adult me wishes he could slap the teenage me in the face and dragged him to the meeting - especially since the adult me is more than making up for lost time.



REACH FOR THE TOP

Ah, yes...Reach For The Top.  The high school quiz game that tested high school students on a variety of subjects.  And in grade nine, I tried out for the team...only to realize that my trivia skills were severely lacking and I was embarrassed by all of the other eggheads in the room.  Still, I regret not going back in later years.  But hey, I suppose I could always try out for "Jeopardy!".  Being on a game show is on my bucket list!

Okay, I think I'll stop there.  I don't want to make it sound as if I wanted to join every single club that existed in my school.  But truth is, I cheated myself out of a lot of fun experiences at school.  And it's only now that I realize that the only person who can be blamed for it is the very person who just posted this blog post.

Sure, there were some other factors in play when it came to not joining clubs.  Some were not the right fit for me.  Some clubs had members whom I could not work with.  And some were completely way out of my league.  I'm looking at you Computer Programming Club.

Ultimately, the blame lies with me.  I couldn't get over my insecurities about myself to actually have fun with school clubs.  If I could have only not let people get to me, I could have had found a way to find some enjoyment in a place that only seemed to bring misery.  And that is my biggest regret.  Not being able to rise above the bad to find the good - especially when I was a teenager.

But times have changed, and I'm all grown up now.  And I suppose that with taking part in charity events through work, writing articles for a comic book publication, and even doing this blog for nearly four years straight...I suppose that could be considered making up for lost time.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Happy π Day!!!

I am really excited to be bringing this blog entry to you!  Sure, to most people in the world, this would be your typical Saturday morning in March 2015, filled with your morning coffee, Saturday newspaper, and a distinct lack of Saturday Morning cartoons.

Seriously, I feel so bad for the kids of today's generation, not knowing the fun and joy of Saturday cartoons.  You guys really don't know what you're missing.

Of course, for people who are really into mathematics, this day is almost as important as the birthdates of Pascal, Euclid, and Fryer.

(Those three names are the last names of famous mathematicians.  Anyone who ever wrote one of those mathematics contests from Waterloo University in Canada will know what I am talking about.)

Yes, today is March 14, 2015.  Or, if you write it out numerically in the North American way, you will have 3/14/15.

Hmmm...where have I seen that number before?  31415...31415...hmmm, maybe there's a decimal point that is supposed to be in place.



OH! 
3.1415...and so on!  Wait a minute.  That's the number that represents THIS symbol.



And this symbol is something that is known as pi!  Or, π, if you rather.

And that means that today is...

HAPPY PI DAY!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, welcome to National Pi Day!  A day of celebration that only happens twice a day every one hundred years!  (Remember, there is a 9:26am and a 9:26pm.)



And as this wonderful illustration happens to show, 3.14 written backwards kind of looks like the word "pie".

But what exactly is PI?  Well, I'm glad you asked.

Although I myself have likely never used pi since I was in high school, I do know that pi is a measurement that is used to figure out what the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter.

Sadly, I have really no use for π in my current occupation.  Well, unless I want to try something out with a paint can.  What exactly I would be finding out?  Well, your guess would be as good as mine.

But really, the number 3.1415... is a number that many people all over the world have been fascinated by.  After all, pi is probably the most famous of all the irrational numbers.  If one were to put π  in the form of a fraction, the closest you would get would be 22/7.  Huh...it's a wonder that July 22 isn't equally celebrated by π  addicts.  Maybe this year it will be.

The point being is that because π is an irrational number, it is not a nice, round, even number.  In fact, it is an irrational number.  The value of π is a little bit more than three, but it happens to be a three followed by an infinite number of digits.

How many digits can you name before you make a mistake?

I have to admit...I'm not very good.  The calculator pic I posted above?  That's as far as I can go.  But that's not too terrible.  Still, some people have tried to analyze π as far as they can to see how many possible digits that they can rattle off. 

Apparently, that number can go as high as thirteen TRILLION digits.  I barely managed thirteen digits.  I have a lot of work to do!



Of course, everyone plans on celebrating Pi Day in their own way.  I would imagine that for most people, they will be celebrating by sitting back and eating a nice big slice of pie.  And if you click on the following links, you can find recipes for cherry, blueberry, apple, peach, and banana cream pies.  Happy baking!

But did you know that there's actually a band that is named 3.14...?  They are based out of Azerbaijan, so I won't hold it against you if you have not heard of them (I know I haven't).  But the insipration behind the name?  π!



There's also an album that was released by Selina Jen of Taiwan in January 2015 with the title 3.1415.

Oh, and as far as celebrating Pi Day, nobody seems to do it better than the University of Massachusetts, which plans on sending their acceptance letters to students who have applied to various programs at 9:26:53am on March 14, 2015.

Or, 3/14/15, 9:26:53.

Go on.  Have a look.  You probably have it in your mailbox right now.

Happy π  Day!

Friday, March 13, 2015

Superficiality Is Ugly - A Flashback Friday Post

So, consider this to be a "Throwback Thursday" type piece.  Only, it's being written on Friday.  Friday the 13th, that is.

Anyway, I couldn't come up with a suitable topic for today (for some reason, March is really giving me major writer's block), I thought I would revisit a topic that I wrote about four years ago, in April 2011. 

Besides, tomorrow is the 14th, and I have a fantastic idea for a topic.  Let's just say that the idea hit me like a custard "pie" to the face...only with less custard and less mess.

So, until then, enjoy this Flashback Friday entry.



WARNING: This note is rated “M” for mature, for strong language and general anger from the writer in question. It takes a lot to get me angry, and when I do blow...ye best duck and cover like scared schoolchildren from the 1950's.

Advice columns have been around for decades. Ever since Ann Landers and Dear Abby were schoolchildren, people can count on picking up a newspaper or their favourite magazine for advice from a variety of people on a ton of subjects. Medical advice. Dating help. Recipes. Interior decorating. Some of the questions that people ask can range from perfectly normal to “what the hell were they thinking”. On the flipside, some of the advice that some of the people give to the advice seekers can range from “incredibly boneheaded” to “absolute brilliance”. Suffice to say, the columns and the columnists who write them aren't going anywhere soon.



Have you ever heard of a columnist named Amy Dickinson? She has a column in a newspaper here in the area that's based in Ottawa. Normally, I tend to skim over the letters and question how some people can get so personal in an advice column (and yes, this is coming from someone who admittedly has over a hundred thought-provoking blog entries right here on Facebook), but the one in the April 14, 2011 paper really struck a nerve with me. It wasn't so much her answer...it was the attitude of the person who sent in the question for her to answer.

And, it made me see red.

Here's the question in full. I bolded it just for you. :D

Dear Amy:

In our 20-year marriage, my husband has gained more than 50 pounds. I have gained about 10 and am constantly exercising and working to keep my weight down.

He has an unsightly gut that hangs over his pants. His clothes are often ill-fitting and sloppy looking due to the difficulty of finding a good fit. I find this embarrassing.

I have begged, pleaded, argued, threatened, reasoned, tried “Weight Watchers” for both of us and expressed concern about his health. Nothing works.

He makes a half-hearted attempt for a week or two and then quits. We have no sex life, as I am repulsed by his fat gut.

Otherwise, he is a loving, devoted, loyal guy with a heart of gold.

I love him, but the truth is I would not have even gone on a first date with him the way he looks now. This feels like a classic bait and switch (women are often accused of this behaviour).

I have all but given up as I watch him wolf down portions enough for three. I guess he doesn't care if we never have a romantic life again.

Should I just give up and live with him as a lifelong friend?

I am not interested in anyone else but, truly, his physical condition has completely turned me off.

I am really furious with him because I feel cheated out of a full marriage. I can't help thinking that if he really loved me, he would try harder.

-Given Up

Can you say...superficial much?

For the record, here was Amy's answer...this time in italics.

Dear Given:

If your husband loved himself a little more, he would try harder. Compulsive eating can provide a relief from the pressure of relationships, work, sex, and the expectations and disappointment of the people around you.

Not only are you pressuring him, but your hostility is so evident that I find myself pining for a pint of Haagen-Dazs just from reading your letter.

Instead of dragging your husband to “Weight Watchers”, you should examine your own issues and behaviour.

Addictive eating is different from other addictions because you can't swear off the stuff (food) forever. You must face your “drug of choice” every single day.

You and your husband don't need diet tips. You need marriage counseling.

You will go into counseling demanding that your husband needs to change to make you happy, prove he loves you or to save your marriage.

But as spouses and loved ones of addicts learn, he will only commit to the hard work of change in order to save himself.

Now...she was a LOT nicer to her about it than I would be. People like her make me see red. I have never been a huge fan of people who were up themselves to begin with, but superficiality is a great way to turn me off of you forever. I never could stand people who demanded that other people change in order to suit THEIR needs, and meet THEIR demands.

When I read that letter, it kind of made me wonder what I would say to this woman if I had stepped inside Amy's shoes (and hopefully she doesn't wear six-inch stillettos, because those things are wrong no matter what sex you are).

It wasn't pretty. In fact, I reckon I'd probably have uttered one too many swears in it, and get promptly fired for my stance on her issue. But, I don't care. It really pissed me off.

So, for all of you...below...in bold AND italics...here's what I would have said to this lovely lady in all of its uncensored glory (hence the “M” rating). In a way, it also showcases my own feelings on the subject of superficiality.

Here goes...

Dear Given Up:

What the f@#$ is wrong with you?!?

I mean, seriously, who the hell are you to go on and on about how unhappy and miserable you are because your husband has gained an extra fifty pounds over the course of your two decade long marriage? News flash...unless you have an insanely twisted obsession with botox injections, there isn't ANY couple who have been married for that long and looks exactly the same as they did on their wedding day.

You're embarrassed to be seen with your husband because his gut is a bit bigger and his pants don't quite fit him like they used to? I'm sure he's just as embarrassed to have a shrieking harpy shrew of a woman berating him and making him feel like crap because of something so superficial as weight gain. In fact, I'd bet my last toonie on it.

I'll tell you one thing. Belittling him, forcing him to do things...doesn't work. I'm sure if you were more supportive of him instead of being disgusted by him, you'd find that he might have the self-confidence and the motivation for him to make the changes himself. You cannot force him to do so, because it gives me the impression that you are a controlling person who really cannot stand imperfection. Here's some advice for you. You want imperfection? Look in the damn mirror, lady, because I certainly would not want to hang around with someone who only seems to look at the surface of a person instead of what's deep inside.

Oh, sure, you've said that he does have a heart of gold and is loyal and devoting, but it shocks me that you only see those as secondary qualities, of lesser importance than six-pack abs and a 32-inch waist. Do you have any idea how many women would DIE for a husband like that, you stupid twit? Regardless of looks? There are men who have the body you want, who lie, cheat and abuse their wives on a day-to-day basis...well...kind of like what YOU'RE doing to your husband right now. I'm sure that there are a lot of women that would be honoured to trade places with you at this moment. I secretly hope that one does.

It would be something different if you were genuinely concerned about his health issues, and if you were worried about him having a heart attack at 50, or high blood pressure. If this was all that you had touched upon, I'd go a little easier on you, but noooooooo. You had to really flick the switch into bitch mode by complaining about your lack of sex life because you find him repulsive. Guess what? I bet he finds your attitude and personality just as repulsive, sweetheart. And, if he doesn't, he SHOULD.

It's women like you that make me see red. You are so hung up on what a guy looks like and how cute he is that you refuse to see just what other great qualities he has because you're too blinded by soap opera star looks which eventually fade over time. You my dear, are no exception.

If I were your husband, and I read your letter, I would have called up my divorce attorney, kicked you out of the house and eaten an entire tub of Cool Whip right in front of you (and I'm talking the Cool Whip with the ocean blue lid...no 98% fat free crap). I'd then hit the gym and get skinny again on purpose just to spite you. But, hey, at least this way, you would have some vindication that you ended up giving motivation after all.

I wouldn't want him to see you as a lifelong friend at all. You haven't been friendly to him for quite some time. You have been a stuck-up, snobbish, selfish, superficial bitch. Thanks to you writing in, everyone knows it...including the man you promised to love in your wedding vows through sickness and health.

You have absolutely no idea what food addictions can do to a person. I can speak about this because I had a really bad addiction to food during my high school years brought on by kids who used to bully me for my weight. You do realize that the more you push your husband, the more he eats, right?

If say, oh, I dunno...you actually decided to, oh, I dunno...SUPPORT HIM...you might get results? But, no...you're too stuck on yourself to think about that, now...ARE YOU?

You may think that he's no prize to you...but neither are you.

Seriously, just go away.

Seriously.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Party Games For Kids - With A Twist!

Yesterday, I talked a little bit about leadership and how if you want to be perceived as a leader, you have to show that you are capable of being one.  And in order to make my point I referenced the children's game "Follow The Leader".  The game where everything the leader does, you're supposed to do.

It's kind of like "Simon Says", only you don't get knocked out of the game for not doing what the leader does.  You just get judged.  Harshly.

Anyway, the "Follow the Leader" reference had me thinking about a subject for today's blog.  And I'm sure it's a topic that most of us know very well.  Especially if we were invited to a lot of birthday parties when we were kids.

Yeah, today's topic is all about children's party games - with a twist.

You see, everyone knows what the basic children's games are that are played.  But let's face it.  After seven or eight decades, these games can get really stale.  There is only so many times that you can play "Pin The Tail On The Donkey" before it becomes the more dangerous game of "Pin The Tail On The Annoying Kid Who Raises His Hand To Give Extra Homework For The Class".

So, I decided to put on my thinking cap, and come up with ways to make the standard children's games a lot more fun and creative.  I'll first list the standard game, and below it, I will list my "improvement".

These are just some of my ideas though.  You can make your own improvements to these kid's classics if you want.  In fact, feel free to post your ideas in the comments section!



1.  DUCK DUCK GOOSE

Basically, you sit everyone in a circle.  One person goes around tapping people on the head saying duck, duck, duck.  Then when you see a person you want to target, you tap them on the head and say GOOSE, and that person has to run around the circle and chase after the head tapper to catch them before they steal their spot.  It's a nice game, but a little boring.

IMPROVEMENT:  DRIP, DRIP, DROP

To make this game more fun, just add water.  Seriously, you give the head tapper a cup or bottle of water, and they go around sprinkling drops of water on people in the circle.  This is your drip.  When you drop, you dump the whole thing on a person's head, and they chase and pursue.  Obviously not an indoor game.



2.  DON'T POP THE BALLOON

Easy and straightforward.  Sit on an air-filled balloon and be the last one to pop theirs.  The last one to do so wins.  But as someone who hates balloons popping, I never wanted to play this game at all.

IMPROVEMENT:  DON'T POP THE WATER BALLOON

Like the first one, just add water to make it more fun.  Again, not meant to be played inside.



PIN THE TAIL ON THE DONKEY

This is a game that seems to appear at every single child's party.  Also one of the most overplayed.



IMPROVEMENT:  PIN THE RIGHT WORD IN THE SENTENCE

Have you ever seen those fridge magnets that have all kinds of words on them that you can use to make all kinds of phrases and sentences?  I believe they're called poetry magnets?  Well, I think a fun game would be to make a sentence, leaving one word out, and then you have the blindfolded child try to finish the sentence from a pile of words.  The pro is that you can have a fun challenge that combines Pin The Tail On The Donkey with Mad Libs.  Plus, it helps kids read!  I say win-win.

And you don't even have to use magnetic words.  Just cut out a bunch of pieces of construction paper and buy some tape, and let your kids make up their own words!  Just make sure to help them with spelling some of the really big ones.



MUSICAL CHAIRS

I have to admit, Musical Chairs is a fun game to play.  You set up a bunch of chairs, play music, and when the music stops, you have to find a chair.  If you can't find a chair at the end of the round, you're knocked out.  But is there a way to make an already fun game even more fun?

IMPROVEMENT:  BLINDFOLDED MUSICAL CHAIRS

Basically, Ellen DeGeneres will show you how it's done.  Just make sure this game is supervised, so kids don't knock themselves out by walking into a wall.




Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Follow The Leader?

March 11, 2015

How many of you out there reading this piece have played "Follow the Leader"?



Ahem...no, I don't mean the song by The Soca Boys. 



I mean the actual game "Follow the Leader".  Come on, I'm sure most of you who have ever been invited to a fourth birthday party has probably played this game in between the delightful "Duck Duck Goose" and the sometimes frightening "Pin The Tail on the Donkey".

Everyone knows how the game is played.  One person is chosen to be the leader, and the rest of the gang follow along behind him/her doing whatever he/she says.  If the leader walks, the followers walk behind.  If the leader hops on one foot, the followers hop right along with them.  If the leader crawls on the floor and pretends they're a caterpillar, you best put on your best caterpillar impersonation.  And if the leader throws a fit because someone isn't following them...well, you can pretty much tell the leader where to go.

You see, I think that when it comes to being a leader, you have to do more than come up with a task and expect others to blindly follow behind you.  Otherwise, you become a cult leader, and well...we all know what happens to most of those. 

No, I believe that in order to be considered a true leader, you have to prove that you have leadership qualities.  And believe it or not, I do not consider being able to bark orders and make people do things for you is true leadership.

Rather, it all has to do with setting a good example towards others.

To be perfectly honest, I see a lot of people who claim to be the very definition of a leader.  They work hard for success, they have a very strong personality, and they don't let anybody stand in their way to getting what they want.  Now, these are all very good characteristics to have in the quest for leadership, and certainly each of these points are important in showing true leadership.

But here's what I've learned.  It's only a small piece of the pie.  Not even that.  In my opinion, it's not even worth the cherries that you put inside of the pie crust.

You see, a good leader leads by example, and I believe that in order to take on a leadership position, you have to be willing to listen to your team and to support them every step of the way.

And I believe that this applies to school, work, home...basically any place where you are alive and breathing.

What do I mean by leading by example?  Well...

The first point I want to make is that I believe that if you want a successful team, you have to make everyone feel as though they are a part of the team.  No exclusions.  No doing extra favours for one person while blatantly ignoring someone else.  I think a good leader understands each person's strengths and weaknesses and works around them to see how each person can fit in, and works with them to become more skilled in other areas. 

A person who excludes people because they aren't sure of what they are doing, act disinterested in helping other people succeed, and who freezes people out because they simply don't know how to work with them is NOT a leader.

I also believe that to show true leadership, you have to be willing to expand your horizons and tackle things that may be out of your comfort zone.  Whether it is taking on more responsibilities at home, doing new things at work, or hanging out with new people, I think any and all of these could be considered showing leadership.

I think another important quality when it comes to leadership is being able to do the things that everyone else on your team is expected to do and essentially practicing what you are preaching.  Again, this comes down to leading by example. 

For instance, if you expect members of your team to do certain things, you'd better be able to do them yourself, whether it be doing choreography for a major Broadway production, making sure that you know how all the equipment works in a factory, or even just following the rules of the school or workplace.  I mean, if the rules state that you are not allowed to have a cell phone turned on in the hallway of a high school, but teachers are allowed to text on their phones in plain sight completely disregarding the rules, how do you think everyone else is going to feel?

I'm also not a huge fan of "double standards", where rules apply to only some of the population, while everyone else can get away with breaking them.  Maybe I'm a little bit old-fashioned in my thinking, but my general belief is, if rules are enforced, then they are there for a reason.  And I think that if you are in a leadership position, be it as a principal, a business owner, or Premier of Ontario, you should do your best to adhere - and enforce - these rules to eliminate double standards.

If they can't...to me, they aren't leaders.  Simple as that.

Truth be told, I really don't consider myself to be a leader in some aspects of life.  Believe me, there are times in which I have openly questioned what I have been doing, and whether I get through to people.  But you know, I think that being a true leader is being unafraid to be yourself, and not being coerced to change things about you in order to impress other people.

Being yourself.  That takes true leadership.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

March 10, 1940

It's time for another edition of the Tuesday Timeline.  And this one is epic.

Mind you, I say that about EVERY Tuesday Timeline...but take it from me.  Today's subject is one epic subject in itself.  Believe me, it's probably one of the most epic subjects that I have ever talked about in this space.

And just how many times can I say the word epic?

You know, let's just go ahead with the events and celebrity birthdays of the tenth of March before I really start to lose my mind.

Okay, so what happened on March 10?  Quite a lot.

1804 - A formal ceremony is held in St. Louis, Missouri to transfer ownership of the Louisiana territory from France to the United States

1814 - Napoleon I is defeated at the Battle of Laon

1876 - Alexander Graham Bell successfully makes the world's first telephone call

1891 - Almon Strowger patents the "Strowger Switch" - the device that inspired the automation of telephone circuit switching

1922 - Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to a six year prison term (of which he only served two and a half)

1933 - One hundred and fifteen people are killed and $40 million worth of damage is reported after an earthquake strikes Long Beach, California

1945 - The United States Army firebombs Tokyo, Japan, leaving 100,000 people dead

1969 - James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.

1970 - Captain Ernest Medina is charged with My Lai war crimes by the United States Military

1977 - Astronomers discover rings around the planet of Uranus

1988 - Singer Andy Gibb dies at the age of 30

1998 - Actor Lloyd Bridges passes away at the age of 85

2000 - Nasdaq peaks at 5132.52, which spells the beginning of the end of the dot.com boom

2010 - Actor Corey Haim dies of pneumonia at age 38

And I want to wish the following celebrities and famous faces a happy birthday; Ralph Emery, Dean Torrence, Katharine Houghton, Kim Campbell, Tom Scholz, Richard Park, Barbara Corcoran, Paul Haggis, Robert Llewellyn, Shannon Tweed, Jeanie Bryson, Sharon Stone, Lance Burton, Mitch Gaylord, Jasmine Guy, Rick Rubin, Neneh Cherry, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Edie Brickell, Paget Brewster, Jon Hamm, Timbaland, Matt Kenseth, Eva Herzigova, John LeCompt, Cristian de la Fuente, Biz Stone, Jeff Branson, Shannon Miller, Rita Simons, Robin Thicke, Bree Turner, Edi Gathegi, Danny Pudi, Carrie Underwood, and Emily Osment.

So, what is the date that we are going to visit?



Well, we're going back seventy-five years in time to March 10, 1940.

Now, here's where the epic part comes into play. 

As it so happens, the Tuesday Timeline date happens to also be a celebrity birthday.  So, we know that this person turns 75 years old today.  And we also know that for the last decade, this person has been the subject of a series of memes that seemingly paint him as the most amazing person in the world, capable of doing impossible things with the greatest of ease.

But, how many of those memes are the truth?  Well, to be honest, less than one per cent.  But how many are entertaining?  99% or higher!

Of course, here in the Tuesday Timeline portion of the blog, I try to have some facts mixed in with the lies, so I thought I'd post ten memes featuring this person that are obviously not true, and balance it out by listing ten real facts about our birthday boy.

This is the
Chuck Norris blog - and can you believe he's 75 today?  He sure does hold his age well, doesn't he?

Okay, let's start with the first meme.



Yeah, while it would be nice if you could physically do that (especially in Ontario where it has been a really terrible winter, and where hydro prices are overinflated - thanks, Ontario government).  Alas, nobody has ever created fire by rubbing two ice cubes together.

But Chuck Norris HAS performed martial arts for well over five decades and has probably broken a lot of boards with just his bare hands - and feet for that matter.  I know I certainly don't want to run into him in a dark alley.

Next...



Something tells me that Chuck Norris probably has no idea what the heck Pokemon even is.  But I can tell you that Chuck Norris probably knows what a Total Gym is.  He filmed a series of infomercials advertising the product with former 1980s supermodel Christie Brinkley.

No word on whether they work...but the fact that they advertised it at all is true.



I don't know what Chuck Norris' blood type is.  Definitely NOT AK-47.  But I bet you didn't know that his real name isn't Chuck.  It was just a nickname that he first received while he was serving in the Air Force.  His birth name is listed as Carlos Ray Norris.



This one is kind of considered a "maybe", as zombies do not exist.  At least, not yet anyway.  Still, would you risk taking on a zombified Chuck Norris?  Probably not.

Though, he DID do a cameo appearance on the CBS sitcom "Yes, Dear".  And in order to actually be entertained by that show, you sort of had to be a zombie.  So, the link kind of ties together, albeit loosely.



That would be one weak snake, don't you think?



However, if you refer to snake as an adjective to describe an unscrupulous, lying, cheating criminal, then yes, I suppose Chuck Norris has killed quite a few of them.  After all, he played the role of Cordell Walker in the CBS series "Walker, Texas Ranger" for eight seasons, followed by a couple of made for television movies. 



Obviously, this is NOT even possible.  Well, unless Chuck Norris discovered a way to travel back and forth through time.  But, Chuck Norris DID build his very own martial arts school and created his own martial arts techniques.  Google the term CHUN KUK DO for more information.



Untrue.  "American Idol" has a cut off age of 29.  When Chuck was 29, the hottest show on the air was "The Brady Bunch", and I KNOW he never appeared on that show!

But he did appear in a string of films - mostly showcasing his martial arts skills.  Among some of the following were "An Eye for an Eye", "Missing In Action", "Hero and the Terror", and "The Expendables 2".



Apparently, Chuck's aim is so good that he kills people before blowing up grenades.  But Chuck Norris is also a man who blows up political arenas.  While he has not run for any forms of office, he is a staunch Republican, and donates money to Republican fundraisers.  Now, this has certainly caused a little bit of alienation with some people, and I admit that he has some beliefs that I don't agree with.  But this is neither the time or the place for that, so let's move on.



I don't know if he has the power to make inanimate vegetables show emotion...however, I imagine that he has seen plenty of emotion within his family.  He has five children and nine grandchildren!  In fact, one of his children, Eric, has raced in NASCAR!



Strangling someone with a cordless phone is an amazing feat.  But do you know what else is an amazing feat?  Earning a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!  He earned the honour in 1990.

So, what else is there to say about Chuck Norris on his 75th birthday?