Strangers........

It's amazing how strangers have a profound impact on our lives at times.

I'm a credit card solicitor and at work last week signed up an older gentlemen for one of our cards. Before he left, he asked me a short question which ultimately snowballed into a plethora of questions and philosophical inquiry. He was a guy in his 60s, born and raised in Windsor, and then moved over to London in his middle age securing a job as a special education teacher at one of the high schools in the city. He was retired now, and began to share his unique perspective and experiences in his life with me. I just stood there and listened, and multiple times he asked me if I needed to get back to work......and although my manager would kill me if she read this, I told him to continue.

I was enthralled by this man's unique disposition, he was very blunt as he tackled issues ranging from social conscience, the recession, family, friends, culture, travelling, teaching, education.......the list went on and on. The issues flowed seamlessly from one to the next representing the unique spectrum of his views and beliefs that he had accumulated over his multitude of years that were now winding down the last few of his life. He laughed when I told him that I didn't want to take any of his time......."I'm retired son" he said, "Time is the only thing I've got now....".

It's funny how the oddest things in our day can make a world of a difference, but we pass by people day in and out without the slightest acknowledgment of their existence. People standing beside us in lineups, sitting beside us in class, walking beside us on the street. I sometimes forget just how big of a difference a simple hello can make in a person's day. We don't have to bend over backwards for people to make a difference. Those of you who have heard about"Free Hugs Day" know what I'm talking about.

One day we will be feeble and old with only our memories to hold onto, and sometimes having someone who listens is all we need. Thanks for giving me YOUR time of day Mr. Fitzgerald, I won't forget your touching words.

Nickel and Dimed Book Review

I was in my first year sociology tutorial the other day and in a class of 40 students when asked the question.....who here has worked at McDonald's before, I was surprised to see that I was the ONLY student to raise my hand. Then the question shifted slightly and I was even more surprised to see that in a class of first year university students only HALF had even had a part time job before......now I was really confused.

I came across Nickel and Dimed in a $3 book blowout at the used book store. Until the point I read through the book I had always been a supporter of the low-wage workforce. I've worked in many different jobs throughout my life and I always thought it was remarkable how some people were getting by with so little, or so I thought. Many of us take for granted the education we are receiving right now, which ultimately (according to an article in the minnesota tribune) sets the wage earnings of high school and college graduates apart by nearly $1 million!

Yet, Ehrenreich's book seeks to discover what it feels like to be in the shoes of those working class people. Employees at Wal Mart, small time diners, home cleaning services, Ehrenreich disguises herself (she's got a Ph D, and is a reputed journalist) and uncovers the sad truth about the working conditions and sub-par living standards of these people. She meets men and women from all walks of life and exposes the myths about working class people, "they're too lazy" or "their jobs are far too easy in the first place", and intricately explores their perpetually debt ridden lifestyles that never even gives them the opportunity to move up in the world. Wal Mart's lack of unionization (preventing any sort of expected standard set by the employees rather than management), the mismanaged and underhanded tactics of small time business owners exploiting foreign workers, the list goes on and on.

While she only documents here experiences in the United States it's safe to say that a lot of what she says applies to Canada as well. While a look at the Stats Canada Income Bracket shows a relatively solid earning of approximately $30-35k for single earning men and women, and approx 55-75k for single to double earning family households, the effects of the current recession could have a profound impact on those numbers in the coming years.

Outfox the Fox: RESPONSE TO OUTFOXED

Instead of shutting up, why don't we just shut OFF? Robert Greenwalds' award-winning documentary Outfoxed catapulted the right wing conservative bias of the Fox News Corporation to an unprecedented level of mainstream coverage. In the movie viewers are treated to an insurmountable amount of evidence on the malicious and under-handed tactics of Fox News, presented through employees who used to work for the corporation, political and media analysts, and supports much of its claim with direct footage from programming on the network.

The documentary begins by presenting the imbalance of power, the means by which the Fox News Corporation has been able to continually spin the media by chronicling the life of media oligarch, Rupert Murdoch. On a side note, it is interesting to see that even before mainstream television, in hitler's war-torn memoir, Mein Kampf he states that the press is a "machine for mass instruction". Scary stuff.....

With a diversified portfolio, Murdoch is presented in the movie as either the owner or subsidiary owner of many of the world most prominent news agencies (Fox News), social networks, (MySpace) and even has a large stake of the United States largest satellite network.

The film maps out the means by which Fox manipulates the media to purport their conservative right wing bias. Here are a few of the examples taken directly from the film

• Daily Memo: Received by employees of Fox News, instructing them to cover particular aspect of daily events and slanting the news to meet the networks political agenda (such as the Reagan Holy Day). These memos show employees how to skew stories and slant them, and reporters were also explicitly told HOW to cover the stories as well. So much for freedom of the press.
• Commentary Vs. Objectivity: Fox News continually blurs the line between commentary and objectivity, yet ruthlessly declares itself as a fair and balanced news agency.

The question remains........WHY? Why do they choose to skew the media and infringe upon journalstic freedom? The film focuses on Bill O'Reilly, the networks' most popular news anchor and his show, "The O'Reilly Factor", which has continually been the highest rated television news pprogram in the United States. The movie portrays O'Reilly's ruthless attempts to undermine journalistic integrity. Using his tag line (SHUT UP) when he feels that his "guests" have over stayed their visit with their liberal (see: Anti-Fox) views.

With a little bit of research and some critical thought,
the issue and answer seem painstakingly clear....

STOP WATCHING THE FREAKING PROGRAMMING! The only reason Fox News continues to spew this bile day in and out is because people subscribe to it and watch it on a regular basis. News by its definition does not have to be objective, honest or even truthful, nor does journalism necessarily entail that as well. I'm going to play devil's advocate and go on a whim to suggest that these are "ideals" of journalistic integrity and ethics, and that they are mere suggestion to some in the profession and industry. News executives were concerned with one thing: capital. When money is the main focus, (as it is unfortunately for most corporations), it is ultimately up to Murdoch and his executive goons to rake in the dough and continue to find a means to keep ratings up. More money, more power, more influence. I am not suggesting by ANY means that Fox is a credible news source, and it is unfortunate that they abuse their incredible position of power. However, clearly there are absolute morons out there who subscribe religiously to these right winged views and it's gonna take a lot more than taking down Fox News to change the wya they think. O'REILLY WAS A FREAKING REPORTER FOR INSIDE NEWS FOR GOD'S SAKE! AN ENTERTAINMENT NEWS PROGRAM!! It's sade that people take Fox to be anything more than entertainment. O'Reilly is doing his job and he's damn good at it, he knows how to manipulate his viewer based and not only attracts his audiences to his program through his outlandish behavior, but continues to elevate the right winged speaker-box of Fox News CORPORATION

Fox News is the bully in the media playground, and as demonstrated in Outfoxed were the key perpetrators behind the announcement of George Bush Jr's Presidential victory in 2000. I encourage EVERYONE to go online and voice their opinions, to re-assure themselves that there are independent news organizations out there that think outside of profit margins.

The United States is in a critical position right now where extreme measures needs to be taken. until we educate ourselves and educate others (this is KEY!) things will not change. I am happy to hear that much of Obama's proposed stimulus package is going towards helping studants finance their college tuition. Education is the key, and as most of us are in MIT we have an incredible responsibility to demonstrate the hazards of lopsided media coverage to our family and friends. Start here to unerstand how ratings continue to support mainstream propaganda and let us continue to be critical of the world that we all share.......indifference and passivity makes all of us just as guilty as those who take Fox news for face value.

CUT MY MIC.....I'm done...

Gotta give some love to my man John Stewart.....
NO SPIN ZONE? YOU DECIDE!

Reiki, the Japanese art of healing.

I'm a stress case and let's face it, so are many of you. We occupy our minds constantly with so many insignificant things and rather than doing something about them, choose to toil with the "worst case scenario". What if she doesn't like me? What if I fail? What if I don't get the job?

Now don't get me wrong, I think planning for the worst is good in some cases. Society tells us as much: insure your cars, your home, your life, your computer.....the list is endless! Isn't it ironic that with all of these safety checkpoints that stress is the leading contributor to illnesses in, leading it to be referred to as the "disease of the century".

My girlfriend unfortunately gets the brunt of most of my stressful outbursts. Although she always reminds me to take a time out, she decided to would help me take a proactive approach to it and got me a gift certificate for a Reiki massage. Reiki is a Japanese healing art that promotes the re-balancing of energy levels in the body which is supposedly a root cause of stress. It is a holistic art which seeks to stabilize the body as a single working unit. It has a lot of hindu influences as well and aims at emphasizing the development and restoration of the chakras that comprise our bodily energies. Check it out in action!

So all that being said....I actually had an incredibly stressful day coming into the Reiki session, and when I arrived I was greeted by my Reiki healer. As surprised as I was to see that she was a woman likely in her 60s - 70s once she lay me on the table she simply put on some ambient music and let the healing begin. Within moments I closed my eyes and much like the video above demonstrates was treated to an unusual, but incredibly stimulating experience.

At first my mind had to be flushed of all thought, I must have spent 40 minutes or so just jumping back and forth from thought to thought until my mind came to a rest for the last portion of the massage. As she moved her hands over my energy chakras, I began to feel a tingling sensation, a feeling of release, and she rarely ever put any direct pressure on my body aside from holding hear hands over my ears. It was a really bizarre experience...but I've had a chronic sharp pain in my abdominal region for months now and as she lay her hands overtop of that area I really felt like my body was reacting with the energy that was being emitted from her hands. at first I experienced a very intense pain, but ultimately it subsided and I felt nothing at all..........

Needless to say this is one experience I'll never forget, and for anyone looking to get some spiritual, mental and physical healing, Reiki is definitely a solid choice. It's a bit pricey, $65 an hour, but you could always do the half hour for $35. Just make sure you're open-minded about this thing, or else you could easily write off what can and should be an incredibly revitalizing experience.

Life: a terrible thing to waste

Ahhhh...........the teenage wasteland........or somewhat passed it.........but not really mature.........kinda like the whole Britney Spears not a girl not yet a woman thing???? You get the idea......I hope.........

Now as I mentioned earlier for some reason, honestly unbeknown to me I felt so passionate initially to dedicate my blog to technoculture (P.S. check out the MIT reference on the stub!). After this past Saturday I realized that this blog would be a great medium for me to help explore who I really am, and how the world shapes who we are as well.

This past Saturday was set to be legendary. A friend of mine and I were ready to take the stage, we got a gig to DJat a party. We spent countless hours reviewing our tracks, gathering requests and researching the hottest tracks to spin. I was kind of nervous at first, we may not realize it but a DJ has an incredible weight on their shoulders at a club. Soon after I had a couple of drinks we had people jumping around like monkeys, and were throwing in everything from house to hip hop to some wicked old school. I was on top of the world! The alcohol definitely played a part in it.........or so I thought...........

I mixed my alcohol with some things I should not have, and at about midnight made my way to the barking frog. As I made my up to the coat check in the side house, I began to feel depressed. Something was seriously wrong. My friends kept asking me "what's wrong", but I wouldn't respond. I felt a little imbalanced, and decided to make my way back to the house just down the road, hoping to catch my breath and head over to the club a little bit later.

I couldn't keep my balance. I was walking back with a friend and he kept asking me "Are you alright? What's wrong man? Talk to me". When I stepped foot into the house, I collapsed and went unconscious.

I woke up, and all I could see was white. Was I dead? Was I dreaming? How did I get here. My vision began to restore itself, and slowly yet steadily the white began to form into my immediate surroundings. I was laying on a hospital bed. Hooked up to me were all sorts of Intravenous Needles stabilizing my body with all sorts of bodily sugars. I had an oxygenated mask on my face, and the night slowly started to come back to me. As I turned my head over, I saw the most horrifying image of all.............my mother's distraught face, tears streaming down her eyes and friends all crowded around my bedside. All I could muster was a meager attempt at a "thumbs up"...........I thought I was being funny............I thought wrong.

I had apparently gone into a coma for nearly 4 hours. My mind was a complete mess, my head was throbbing and clearly my body had failed me, but my soul persisted. I was even hooked up to a tube that was helping me to breathe because I was having difficulty doing so on my own. Even though I can't claim to have seen or heard things during my unconscious state, but it was nothing less than a spiritual revelation.

My mom was incredibly upset, disappointed, worried, angry, sad, confused, but ultimately she told me kept telling me this was a wake up call, a moment to start anew. She was right. I began to do research on comas, and New York Times Article suggests that there is nothing that can "physically" be done to get someone out of a comatose state. It is ultimately up to the brain to restore itself to consciousness. Later on I found out my friends tried to apply force to my pressure points to get a physical reaction out of me at the house when I was unconscious, but I would not respond and immediately called 911. I was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. My soul did not want to give up on me......it urged me to pull through......and I am so grateful that it did.

I spent a lot of time thinking that night after coming home from the hospital. I didn't sleep for over 40 hours. I can't say I had any religious premonitions or god-like revelations, but I experienced something much simpler. I realized how grateful I was not only to still be alive, but how lucky I am to be so loved. I realized the perilous effects of alcohol, and the incredible toll it can take on your body. I can't say that I will never drink again, but I can begin this blog with the promise that I will never look into a substance to make me feel more comfortable in my skin. It's the sad truth that sometimes we all feel like we "need" something to make us feel better, or make us feel like we can do the things that we aren't normally able to do. Take a second and look at yourself in the mirror, and remember the beautiful gift of life, and appreciate the very essence of your living to follow your dreams.

Take it or leave it folks, this blog isn't for the faint of heart

And so it begins.........

Well as some of you may be wondering why it's taken me so long to finally get a post up and going, all I can say is that I feel like I have finally touched upon a subject that not only represents me, but is also something that people everywhere can reflect on. I was originally going to start blogging on technoculture and how it shapes our everyday lives........but I had a near death experience this past weekend that really changed my perception of what living is all about. So cozy up, and relax........let the exploration begin........

P.S. for all my fellow MITers........check out the wiki stub! We're making history! FREAKING EH!