This is the end.

The end of the term is here, and I will not be posting until next year. I have feelings of both, accomplishment and great relief. As for my battle with CreComm term one... I win.

Book Review of Dexter By Design

Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay
Published September 2009

Jeff Lindsay has been known to wow his readers with gruesome details and out-of-this-world plots. In his latest work, Dexter By Design, the fourth in the Dexter series, he delivers the same style of writing, except this time, it’s tired and predictable.

While in Paris on his honeymoon, the main character Dexter attends an art show with his new wife Rita. The show consists of a young woman removing one of her limbs with a saw and videotaping the entire thing. Lindsay does a great job of describing the show, making the reader feel that they are actually experiencing the gruesome event. Holding true to the title, Lindsay makes it clear in the opening chapter what this novel is about: the dark and twisted side of art.

Upon returning home to Miami, Florida, Dexter is welcomed back to his work as a blood spatter investigator for the Miami Police Department, with an art display containing no blood at all. Two bodies are discovered with their entrails removed and a basket full of goodies inside the stomach. Dexter’s murderous inner voice, (which he refers to as his Dark Passenger), tells him this is no ordinary murder.

Unlike the first two novels in the series, Lindsay keeps the presence of the Dark Passenger rather hidden, referring to him rather sparingly compared to the past. Originally, the Dark Passenger used to determine how Dexter would act through most situations, now we hear next to nothing about it or from it. It is possible that Lindsay is trying to mature his main character, a tactic that does not bode well throughout the novel, and quite possibly might lose fans.

After his sister Deborah is attacked while interviewing a suspect, Dexter makes his first mistake in the series when he kills an innocent bystander instead of the actual murderer. Not only does he commit this foul act, he is also caught on video by the murderer. As Dexter is now under surveillance, the murder threatens to reveal Dexter’s secret identity to the world, a staple to every novel in the series.

Unlike the rest of the series, Lindsay fails to bring the story to a proper climax by misleading the readers too many times with major, action-packed events. Dexter is knocked out by an exploding house, saves his family after they were in a head on car collision with the murderer, and he goes to Cuba to kill the murderer. After all this, nothing happens. Lindsay is unsuccessful with his attempt at creating a suspenseful and thrilling roller-coaster ride.

Lindsay ends the novel with little to no excitement as he spends less time with the ending as he does explaining a confrontation between Dexter and the murderer in Cuba. It seems that Lindsay is losing the momentum that carried his series all the way to a television series. He’s still got the perfect mix of dark humor and grotesque murder scenes, but this time, he lost the one thing that counts, the element of surprise.

Twitter Tracker!!

So I have been sucked in by the latest wave of social media, Twitter.





Today in PR class I was given the "assignment" (Just kidding) of creating a Twitter account. At first I was like "NO WAY MAN! NOT ME!" but now I don't mind it.

There's lots of interesting and funny people to follow on Twitter and I'm sure i'll be frequenting my page a few times a day.

Follow me on twitter

Tipping a gas jockey? Preposterous

I worked as a gas attendant (petroleum distribution engineer) for 3 years at the Interlake Co-op Gas Bar in Arborg, Manitoba. The town is quite small, only about 1,300 in the town, but counting all the people in the surrounding area, there is around 10,000. The Gas Bar was the only gas station in town. Needless to say, it was pretty busy.

Basically, my duty was to put gas in all the vehicles that came up to the pumps. When it’s -30 and it’s 7 a.m., who wants to go stand outside for 5 minutes, while standing still and watching little numbers go up? I hated it. Sure, they gave me ski pants, gloves, a parka, toque, and boots, but even though they look really warm, it’s not. Co-op clothing doesn’t maintain warmth whatsoever.

Lots of people were sympathetic when the elements were bad, I won’t deny that, but there were also a lot of people who didn’t appreciate it at all. The conversation would go like this. Me-“Hi there ma’am, how much gas could I get for you today?” “Fill it,” she says as she steps out of her gigantic SUV without even looking in my direction. The second she steps out of her vehicle, she is already heading directly to the store. Why say thank you? This kid pumping gas is a no body.

Out of my entire 3 years, I was tipped twice, and once was with a chocolate bar that was on sale for 50 cents. The one time I was tipped a loonie, the woman couldn’t have been more kind. It was the fall, so it wasn’t too cold outside, and her vehicle was filthy from top to bottom. I asked her how much she wanted and she politely responded and ended off with a please and thank you. I washed every window on her vehicle and all the lights. She came out and stopped in awe at the site of her vehicle. “OH MY GOD!” I never knew that a squeegee could bring so much joy to one person. She told me how grateful she was for what I did and in turn, she presented me with a loonie. She claimed that she would have given me more, but she didn’t have any more change on her.

I was so happy with the tip that I was a complete gentleman the entire day. Every person who came to the Gas Bar got 110% out of Jordan Johanson. That was one day out of three years. The other 1067 days, I was miserable. Let’s just say, it was a true half-assed effort, with me giving about 50% on a good day.

So the next time you complain about your gas jockey giving you bad service, just give him a dollar, you’ll make him or her happy for the rest of the day. If you don’t have a loonie on you, show your appreciation. Say thank you and give them a smile, they deserve it.

The Bromance

I first heard the term "man-crush" about one year ago. It came when a friend of mine had a guy who wanted to do nothing else, but hang out with him. So I thought to myself, " Okay... so they're just good friends?"

I didn't understand. Why do people consider it a "Bromance" when two guys are really good friends? So after I was told that these two friends were in a bromance, I asked the person who told me about it, "So are they gay or something?" The story teller quickly replied with, "No not at all. They just have man crushes on each other."

It made absolutely no sense. The story teller proceeded to treat the two guys like they were all weird. What's the big deal? Aren't girls allowed to be besties and consider themselves girlfriends? So why does a good friendship between two guys have to be considered a bromance? By those rules, all friendships between girls should be called "shemances." I don't know.

MTV went as far as having a show called Bromance. There was one main guy who had nine different guys compete to be the main guy's best friend, so that they could be in a bromance. Ridiculous.

I have good friends, but I wouldn't say that I have a man-crush on them. I've had the same friends since I was very young, but we're not in a bromance. Why did friendship between two guys have to get such a stupid label?

Bye-bye life

I hate that CBC has taken The Simpson’s off air. It is arguably one of the greatest shows in television history based solely on the fact that the show is currently in its twentieth season.

Personally, I’ve never met anyone under the age of 35 who doesn’t love The Simpson’s. The script is absolutely genius and is so timely. They’ve established their own style and have never needed to copy the humor of other lowbrow shows like Family Guy.

For the longest time, I’d come home from school at 3:45 and patiently wait for The Simpson’s to come on at 4. Then I’d watch the same episode again at 5, at 6, at 7. Then I could watch it at 6:30 and 7:30 and 8 on different channels. Life was good.

Nowadays, it’s hardly ever on. The odd chance I get to watch it comes at 11 o’ clock usually. Sad times.

The Simpson’s generation (ages 17-35 mostly male) is losing a vital piece of its livelihood. How will they keep up on their Simpson’s knowledge? Since I began school, I’ve quoted The Simpson’s close to once every day, and sometimes many more times.

CBC, do us all a favor and bring them back. You’re not winning any more viewers by replacing The Simpson’s with Wheel of Fortune. The Simpson’s generation isn’t that old yet…

Here’s a site that everyone should know and love: every Simpson’s episode for free!!!

www.wtso.net

What Does Blogging Mean to Me?

I am a blogging virgin.Well, not any more, but I’ve never maintained, written, or even read a blog before I started this one. I’ve learnt that it is way for anyone to express their opinions publicly, even though there is a possibility that no one will read it. I’ve learnt that blogging should come from the heart. When you try to write a blog, but you have no ideas, nothing can be more difficult. Luckily, for most of my entries, I have had ideas that I was passionate about, but even trying to extend onto those ideas can be a daunting task. Blogging really tightens up a person’s writing skills because they must provide an opinion or out-look and express it clearly and properly. Developing an audience will take time, I hope. I have not yet built up an audience like some of my classmates, but it is probably because what I’m writing about does not interest many other people, but this is why it’s called a “personal” blog. It’s my ideas and thoughts on what I’m interested in.


a little video to help everyone understand what blogging is all about

The concept of blogging has really sky-rocketed in the past few years I believe. Anyone who’s anyone has a blog now. All celebrities are asked to write blogs, along with athletes, politicians, and anyone involved with the media. Most journalists maintain blogs as well which I would find to be hard for them as they now have to switch back and forth between two writing styles constantly. Basically, it’s just doubling the workload for journalists, and frankly, I just don’t find that to be fair. Perhaps these journalists in question WANT to keep a blog, well, all the power to you my friend.

This guy was blogging before laptops. That's what I call greasy

Blogging, to me, is a place to just spill out the ideas in my mind. Maybe they won’t be some amazing ideas with really thought-provoking topics and such, but it’s just what’s on my mind. A lot of the blogs I’m reading now are really funny, really helpful, and really interesting. It’s great to have such a variety of information at my choosing. Lots of people keep blogs just to write about what they dislike, but most of these people are people that don’t matter. Sure, everyone has the right to say what they want, but if some greasy teenager in a basement is saying that the way Canada is being governed is wrong and should be changed, well I just don’t really care. That greasy teenager should grow up; learn everything there is to know about politics, become prime minister, and then blog about the government. Maybe then I’ll actually care. That’s exactly what I’m trying to steer away from in my blog. When I write a post, I want it to be on a topic that I understand. I’m not going to blog about cooking Chinese cuisine because I’ve never done it.

There are several blogs that I read and keep doing so because they make me laugh. Anything that can bring a smirk to my face is worth coming back to read over and over. One example of this is http://memoirs-of-a-gentleman.blogspot.com/2009/10/chevy-chase-is-alivefunny.html. Always gives me a chuckle and talks about things I understand.

To me, blogging can never unintentionally hurt anyone. Unless, of course, they do it on purpose, then they are just dumb. Blogs can be viewed by anyone in the world so just watch what you say. Personally, I intend to offend no one, and will always be that way.

Expired foods: A very touchy subject

Recently, I brought a delightful lunch to school. It was leftover macaroni and cheese that I made some time late last week. Is it wrong that I wanted to eat the food I already made? It had been taking up space in the fridge and sadly, I just never noticed it. So finally today it caught my eye and I was excited.

In macaroni and cheese there is the noodles themselves which never really go bad, the cheese sauce powder, which they provide ( I assume it’s made to last), milk, and butter. So out of the four ingredients(excluding those of the cheese powder), only milk and cheese can go bad. I assumed that if the milk and butter mixed with the preservatives of the cheese powder, then the milk and butter will have preservatives and they’ll last forever. Well, not forever, but much longer than usual.

So, with that in mind, I heated up the mac and cheese and was about to put the first bite into my mouth, “Stop!” Glenda instantly brought me to a halt and questioned my reasoning. “I’m hungry and this stuff is good.” She kept on with the argument that any dairy product will go bad quickly and stay bad. I reluctantly gave into her side of the argument and bought an overly expensive sandwich from Tim Horton’s.

The reasoning behind my wanting to eat the old macaroni and cheese you ask? I was raised to never waste food. “Can’t leave till you finish your plate,” was my fathers motto. The fridge at home was never re-stocked until everything in it was finished. Just last week I had to throw out an entire casserole dish full of hamburger helper. It had been in the fridge for about two weeks so I made the decision to get rid of it. I shed tears as I scraped it into the garbage bin. My girlfriend, on the other hand, has no trouble with it whatsoever. She can throw out food at the drop of a hat.

I consider myself very lucky to even have food so why waste it?

Assignment: Buyer Beware Blog

For my Buyer Beware project, my group compared frozen meals to their homemade counterparts. We did this for the average college or university student. Basically, we wanted to know which the average student would prefer, a quick frozen meal that might lack in taste, or a well-prepared homemade meal that can be boasting in flavor!

To conduct our experiment, we began by heading to the grocery store to find the best products for the best prices. So we decided on two dishes, chicken alfredo and vegetarian lasagna. For the lasagna, we decided on purchasing Bassili’s Best 6 Vegetarian Lasagna which cost $11.98. For the chicken alfredo, we bought Stouffer’s Chicken Alfredo which cost $5.99. Now all we needed to do was find a very basic recipe similar to these and buy the ingredients.



All the ingredients for the lasagna cost $24.30 which was, of course, much more than the price for the frozen dish. All the fixings needed to make the chicken alfredo were, to our surprise, very close in price with the frozen meal.

Now, all we needed to do was prepare all the meals for a taste test the taste test we planned to hold in the atrium at school. We did all the cooking at Fresh Café where Jim was connected to the owner. This worked out to be very helpful because it provided us with all the resources we needed to prepare the meals. This whole process was quite enjoyable as none of us in the group had much cooking experience. We divided the tasks between us evenly and managed to complete the lasagna first in approximately an hour and a half. The chicken alfredo process was very similar. We split up all the tasks evenly and completed it in about 45 minutes.

Luckily for us, Jim’s connection to Fresh Café also had catering equipment so she was able to bring all the food to the school and keep it heated. We could not have held this taste test without her and we’re very thankful for her help. We had all the equipment and food set up in the atrium just to right of the elevator which we thought would be alright with the school officials. Turns out it wasn’t. It violated the school’s policy of serving food without charging for it. We did it anyways with the support of our trusty instructor Kenton Larsen. He took all the blame from the authority figures, but luckily for him, he didn’t get in trouble either. So we had all our food set up and we were ready to go. The students started piling in quite fast and our food was being talked about all around the school. Each person who participated in the taste test had to taste one of the frozen dishes, and then taste it’s homemade equivalent, all the while not knowing which was which. Then, they had to fill out a small survey which asked which meal they liked better and they also had to score 1 to 4 on the factors that were their main priority while shopping; taste, price, health, and convenience. We predicted that price would be the clear winner in that survey, but to our surprise, taste came in first getting 53% of the first place votes. Price did however come in second getting 30% of the first place votes. Health and convenience were far behind with 11% and 6%.

When it came to which dishes were actually preferred by students, the homemade vegetarian lasagna beat the frozen with 76% of students preferring it. Then out of nowhere, the frozen chicken alfredo managed to beat out our home-cooked with 53% of the vote. Many of the comments on our chicken alfredo were that it needed a much creamier sauce. This problem couldn’t have really been avoided as we prepared the meal the night before and all the sauce had pretty much vanished. All that remained on the food was the flavor, which we were praised for.

We came to the conclusion that what students prefer depends on each persons individual preference. If they prefer taste, they should cook their own meals. If they watch how much they spend, they would be better off sticking to frozen meals. If health is the number one concern, cooking a meal themselves with ingredients they choose would be best. For all the students with no time on their hands, the convenient choice is frozen dinners as they offer no preparation time and very little attention.

The entire group had fun working on this project even though there was lots of disagreement and confusion. The confusion coming mostly from Alexa…Just kidding. We all had equal parts in the planning, preparations, and presentation. The report was split into sections and each member of the group wrote a section. We all looked over the report to edit it, but Sandy did do the majority of the editing and composing of the final draft.

It almost made me cry

On tonight’s episode of The Office, the long-awaited marriage between Pam and Jim finally happened. Of course, as a fan, I have been patiently waiting for this to happen ever since the very first episode. I would love nothing more than to see a happy ending.




Their relationship started off right at the very beginning of the series. Pam had a boyfriend, but Jim never gave up hope because he always secretly loved her. After a few seasons they became an item and it seemed like there was really nothing else to be established on the show. Then Pam moved to New York to go to school and Jim felt that they were drifting apart. The show had reached an all-time high for awkwardness, and that, if you didn’t know, is really saying something. The Office provides an immense amount of opportunities for you to feel awkward and embarrassed for the characters on the show. So, throughout all of the awkwardness, Jim managed to propose to Pam and once again, the show seemed like there was really nothing left to establish. I found myself wondering, “so what are they going to do now? Jim and Pam are together so who cares?” When I caught wind of the news that they were going to tie the knot, I melted inside.

I have never experienced a feeling like this in my life. While watching this episode, I found myself getting angry at the guests of their wedding because it was ruining the whole event. First, Michael Scott, both Pam and Jims manager, broke the news during the rehearsal dinner to Pam’s grandmother that she and Jim are pregnant. I cringed. I wanted nothing more than for the wedding to go off without a hitch and everything be perfect. Where am I getting these feelings from? My girlfriend, on the other hand, felt nothing whatsoever. Even though there was a beautiful love story unfolding on the screen, she was stone. Usually, she cries during Law & Order.

So why did this feeling come over me? I actually found myself getting choked up when it showed the scene of Pam and Jim tying the knot while on the “Maid of the Mist” in Niagara Falls. My girlfriend still stone cold.

Is it because I’ve been following this love grow ever since the very beginning that I felt this way? I don’t exactly know. All I know is that it was strange.

Who's got it better?

Approaching strangers isn’t for everybody, and from what I’ve noticed, it’s especially hard for men. This subject is a touchy issue because all men will say that it is much easier for girls to approach strangers and get them to open up because girls have sex appeal, but all girls deny this and say it is based solely on their personality. This may be true, but even the shyest, most shut in girls are able to probe information out of unsuspecting strangers.

On Saturday, September 26th, I attended a football game with my entire class and on the following Monday, we discussed our experiences. One male brought up the fact that girls had it way easier because they just be nice to some stranger and instantly, that stranger, if it’s a man, believes that the girl is flirting with him. He then said that all they have to do is hit on him just a little bit and they can get anything. Even if the girl is not trying to be flirtatious whatsoever, most men will still think that he is being approached because he is good looking and must be a really cool guy.

Instantly, every girl in my class had an opinion. Each one disagreed and said that it was just their social skills and their confidence that aided them in the process. Most girls truly are just much more sociable and have no problem going up to a stranger and striking up a conversation. But are they unconsciously flirting with this guy? Are their conversation skills based around flirting? Who knows. The answers will vary between every single woman. Each person has a different personality and the situation will not always be the same.

You don't get it, your a boy!

Today in PR class, my instructor talked about how when she works on something, she will make herself sick over the work, literally. She makes herself sick to the stomach because she is so focused on having absolutely perfect work done. This sparked interest to me because I know a lot of women who are like this. In fact, almost all women I know well are like this.

Personally, I have never met or heard of a man doing this. Sure, men will work themselves sick doing physical work, but so do women. It puzzles me why women are much more inclined to become perfectionists rather than men. I consider this to be a great quality. Obviously it has worked quite well for my PR instructor considering she has done quite well for herself with a career that she loves. I, on the other hand, have not found my true passion yet and in turn, haven’t made myself sick over work.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am passionate about what I do. Just not to the same level, clearly. Perhaps men are just more confident in their work that they just don’t need to stress over such things. That could very well be wrong, it is just a theory, one that I would like to have answered.

I’m sure no man will ever fully understand the reasoning behind some women’s actions, but why is there such a difference in the number of women like this compared to the number of men? I thought all human beings were equal? Why don’t most men get stressed out and sick over their work like lots of women I know?

I’ve been told many times that women just “care more.” Okay, that could be true, but I care a lot about what I do and how it affects people and I don’t get stressed to that extent. Who knows, maybe women just really do have it in their blood that they care a hell of a lot more about everything. I don’t believe I’ll ever know and that doesn’t particularly bother me at all. I applaud all those who are passionate enough to make themselves sick over work, whether it’s men or women.

Keep on truckin’.

Hey Tyra, thanks for making me throw up

As I’m forced to watch this episode of Tyra Banks, I keep growing mad, not only because I’m forced to watch it in the first place, but also because of the content on the show.

The episode is about women who are addicted to do-it-yourself plastic surgery…. Honestly? Why does this even exist? It’s sick, plain and simple.
Personally, I believe that plastic surgery should have never been created. The men who developed breast implants, (yes it was men. I’d like to apologize to women on their behalf) were clearly not thinking straight. These men, Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin, decided it would be a good idea to put silicone inside women’s bodies.
I realize that these men did not fully understand the effect of what silicone can do to a body, but isn’t it common sense to not put industrial-grade chemicals into them? I know my mother always taught me that lesson. “Don’t eat that silicone Jordan; it could be bad for you…” Now, of course that’s a joke my mother never actually said that. That sort of life lesson was never really required. I think the commercials as a child covered it quite well, “Don’t you put it in your mouth. NO WAY!”

Shouldn’t it have been the same with these so-called “beauty products?”

When I say “beauty products,” I’m referring to Botox, Paraffin, Collagen, Restylane, and Juvederm. I’m sure there is more, but they are currently unknown to the general public. Women and men all around the world are being brain-washed to think that these things will make them beautiful. The truth is they don’t. I have never seen one act of cosmetic surgery which has attracted me in any way, shape, or form. Yes I’m even including boob jobs. Obviously there are people that find this attractive, but these people are soulless, shallow, and degenerating. I am sorry to anyone who this may refer to or offend, but what’s wrong with natural beauty? I feel quite strongly that both women and men should not alter their appearance just because they think they have imperfections. However, they may be exceptions such drastic facial scarring or burns or deformities. In which case, the person has an actual reason as to why they want it, or perhaps need it.

Tyra Banks is known to have some topics that raise eyebrows, but this show is absolutely jaw-dropping. The first guest had purchased a bottle of silicone off Ebay and injected it into her top lip and her left cheek. The woman was unaware that the silicone she purchased was for external use, it wasn’t supposed to be injected.



She also had no idea how much silicone she was supposed to inject. So she not only filled her face with external silicone, but she also added way too much. Why would someone be compelled to do this? It’s because women are pressured to be perfect at such a young age. Don’t take this the wrong way ladies, because I know that not every single woman on earth feels the need to get cosmetic surgery, but the majority of people who are getting way too much surgery are women. I am not going to pass judgment on all woman, I believe it’s unfair the way their treated. Thank god guys aren’t all like, “Oh my god, look at his ass, I wish that was mine.” Or,”Ugh my lips are too thin. I need to plump them up.”

That sort of stuff just doesn’t happen. Well, maybe it does with some, but those guys were probably brought up the same way as the girls who get plastic surgery. And I don’t think there are too many guys who are quite that open. It is primarily an industry directed towards women, for now, and it should be an industry on the decline. Instead, there’s reality shows being made about how glorious it is. Stupid…

Women, you’re beautiful the way god made you. Everyone on earth has natural beauty and it should be embraced. As for the men, well there are more women on earth than there is guys so don’t worry, you’ll find your match no matter what you look like.

A quick intro

With this blog, I intend to touch on issues that may or may not offend other people, especially the opposite sex. The one thing all my readers need to keep in mind is that I am not a sexist at all and my intent is to not offend anyone what so ever. However, if that does happen, I am sincerely sorry and apologize greatly in advance.

I want to provide the male persepective on all walks of life. From watching and participating in sports, to television shows or simple life events such as riding the bus or working at a gas station.

This is just a portal into the mind of a male. I am positive that not all men share the same views as me and I am quite aware of that. I will simply give my input, which is of course, the mind of a man.