RAVENLOONATIK.COM

Directed by Andy Garcia
Starring: (You guessed it) Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray

Andy Garcia made a movie to appeal to Cuban exiles, not Hollywood or anyone else. Instead of showing the social inequality that led to Batista (he’d been elected after his coup d’etat on President Prio), and then to Castro, he chose to concentrate on banal characters, sloganism and a fashion cavalgade.

There’s a wonderful story in there — he just didn’t get it.
As to his acting ability — guess he figured he could get away with close-ups and the most pathetic attempts at crying. I could barely stay in my seat except for the music. The music was pretty good — performed mostly by blacks.

The only blacks in Garcia’s Cuba were, apparently, entertainers — and they were excellent.

For the most part people… the heart of the film is truely in the right place, but what starts as a promising exercise devolves in an overlong, unevenly directed total disappointment.

LiL MiNx and I left at the hour and a 1/2 mark… with very numb ass cheeks.
(Total waste of time)

Blank is a state of mind … a moss-covered slow lethargy that overcomes you as you sit waiting for death.

A mistrust of the anarchistic and the entropic. And a welcome peace for the cowardly or the wounded.

“Come, let this be our life of waiting … of no expectation and no regret. Come, let this be the time we close ranks and allow the armies of time to creep up to our door.

Let us rest on the well-worn furniture of our minds which we built in our childhood, and let us create no more as we wait for the inevitable defeat.

Let us welcome sweet obscurity and eventual, final, eternity of darkness.”

Wow… Thats f*cked up… Think I need sleep!

So, you know what’s really grinding my gears these days? Cashiers who return my change with the coins precariously balanced on top of the bills.

I mean, think about it: First they have to go to all the trouble of balancing the change on top of the bills, hand it across the counter to me (which frequently results in some of the coins sliding off onto the counter or floor), and then I have to extricate the bills out from under the coins to get them into my wallet. Why do they do this? Did someone teach them at cashier school to return money this way? I hope not.
I hope it’s just a fad that will eventually fade, because it’s inefficient and likely to result in lost coins.

Why not just put the coins into my hand and the bill on top? Or, better yet, leave it on the counter, and I’ll pick it up myself. That’s the way it is normally done. But, by God, stop wasting time and effort to build a delicately-balanced and doomed-to-failure construction of coins on bills. It’s awkward for the cashiers, it’s awkward for me, and it wastes both our time.

You know, this bizarre behaviour started again a year or two ago, and seemed to spring up spontaneously. I guess one person did it and another cashier received change that way, and it grew exponentially from there. Normally, something like this grows because there is a need that is satisfied by it. But this particular behaviour doesn’t solve any problems, it just makes life harder for both cashier and customer.

It reminds me of my friend Shawn, who used to like to stand his portable telephone up on its end. It could fall over at the slightest agitation, but still he had a desire to set it up precariously.
For a few months I was living with him, and it used to drive me bonkers. So I’d put his phone down on its side where it could not fall over. But next time he used it, he’d stand it up again. Why, Shawn, why?
And while we’re on the subject, why did you frequently eat ice cream out of a glass? That irritated me too. And your “efficiency” argument didn’t convince me. Same with your “easier to wash” argument. And …

Ah, never mind …

Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a US radio personality who dispenses advice to people who call in to her radio show. Recently she said that homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstances.
The following is an open letter to Dr. Laura penned by a US resident, which was posted on the Internet. It’s funny, as well as informative.

Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can.
When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other specific laws and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord — Lev. 1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness — Lev. 15:19-24. The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.
4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination — Lev. 11:10– it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? — Lev.24:10-16.
Couldn’t we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging. Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

Other ways to contact poster: laugh really loud

About 12-1/2 years ago I started working at Canadian Tire. At first I was on my best behaviour, but slowly I became my usual “do-it-differently-if-you-can” rebellious self, to the detriment of my career … oh well, I got 10 years out of that company, and they got ten years of good work out of me (the last month I was a bit grumpy, but I have always delivered what is asked of me and on time).

Not long after I started working there, a co-op student arrived to work also. Certainly not unusual, though she ended up working there somewhat more permanently later on. But on her first day, someone walked her around the place introducing her. On her blouse was an embroidered patch depicting the Winnie-the-Pooh character Tigger.

I said to her, “Aha! I see you are wearing Tigger! I’m an Eeyore kind of man myself!”

And it’s true. The other day I was taking a trip down memory lane about my obsessive-compulsive childhood tendencies, and so here’s another memory: I had a stuffed Eeyore as a young child from which I was nearly inseparable (I mean, the days that Eeyore had to get washed were particularly traumatic for me … and, besides, how could he breathe in the washing machine???) And even long after Eeyore (the toy) found his well-deserved rest in the Edmonton landfill; I still used to pride myself on being an Eeyore type.

Then a strange phenomenon occurred at my workplace, encouraged by a man who was a slightly older and more sophisticated loner-type shit-disturber than I, though not particularly different from me in many respects.
(I wonder if he reads these rants … I average about 35 or 40 people a day coming to this website)

Where was I? Oh yes, the Winnie-the-Pooh characters phenomenon. Suddenly, there was a group of people that formed what I called (and named) the CTPC, or “CT Pooh Corner” (”CT” being the name of the company). I made fun of Canadian Tire Corporation (Coincidently the acronym is CTC also!)
And people signed on for the different characters.

I was Eeyore, naturally, a co-worker didn’t want to be Rabbit–which is too bad since she reminded me of him–so she got Piglet. The above-mentioned co-op student became Tigger, and there were others. I forget all of them, but I drew up an Org-Chart, someone else (”Winnie”, actually) made up the PPC logo and “official” letterhead … and then the whole thing rather quickly faded away, since such silliness can only be sustained by adults for so long before we start to feel too self-conscious to continue.

But what hasn’t faded is my identification with Eeyore. I’m not saying that I am particularly Eeyore-like, but I can certainly identify with the character. A cloud follows him around, and he seems to offer social commentary on a grander, bigger-picture scale (albeit a lot less wordily than I do):

Some people write long-winded rants, and some people don’t … I can’t explain it, but there it is.

It doesn’t surprise me at all that there is at least one “What Winnie-the-Pooh Character are You?” website quiz out there. I would have linked to it from here, except that it contains a bazillion popups, cookies, and other crap that I would rather warn you about first. If you are cool with it, try Googling “What Winnie-the-Pooh Character are You?” and at or near the top of the results page should be links to such a quiz. I took the quiz, and I really did come out as Eeyore … though the questions were pretty obvious about the characters associated with them.
Eeyore has always seemed to me to be … well, more sensible, really.

He is the character that has a large personal problem (his tail keeps falling off) but still takes the time to rise above the daily hardships to think about the Grand Scheme of Things. The fact that he’s negative and cynical is exactly right. Cynics generally have higher IQs, and tend to excel in Dangerous Times.

The one thing that bright bubbly mindless optimists enjoy repeating endlessly is that cynics die younger, and usually of stress-related health issues. But the stress doesn’t come from being cynical, it comes from being surrounded by happy brain-dead optimists all the time.
Being an Eeyore and having to live surrounded by Winnie-the-Poohs and Tiggers too is really stressful.

* * *
By the way, I can’t help but be more than a little offended that the spell-checker suggests “Eyesore” in place of “Eeyore.”

Raven please read this it is long but worth your time
im done insaulting swearin and all that stuff

Post:
Raven Im sorry.
Wednesday, 31. May 2006, 17:51:40

Dear
Raven

I give up im done posting im done sayin sfuff about you. i am finished no more insaults no more swears. You can belevie in anythin you want. I dont want to fight anymore i am jsut a kid i dont understand anything i say most of the time. I am finished. I dont want to make you mad any more. I am done with this site and done with yellin at people. If you could delete all the posts that i did on your blosgs i would appreciate it and i would like to put al of this behind us. you may not forgive me but im done. you can still yell at me and you can give me crap but i wont respond to any of it. i am sincrerly sorry. im sorry for insulting what you belive in. i am sorry for callin you a faggit “faggot”. im sorry for callin you an idiot. im sorry for callin you a f*ck up and all of it. I wont do it any more to anyone. im done posting on this page. I may check to see if you write anything but i wont respond. If you have ever herd of the game final fantasy seven “my favorite game” the main characters name is cloud. that is where i got my name cloud256, cloud255, cloud257. the numbers are all fo my favorite numbers. you probably dont care but i thought you should know. As i said im sorry. I have better things to do with my life than make fun of people i dont even know. I know what i did was wrong and i wont do it again. im sorry man i realy mean it. im just a kid i dont know what i was gettin into. I thought i was bein cool by makin fun of people but i never thought i would get made fun of back. im done man. If you dont belive me thats ok. and what you said about my profile it was rather amusing. I hope you accept my appology. could you please post your remark here and on your hate postings of cloud256. ill check later.

adios

sorry,
Cloud
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*** I posted the following on his Blog Site in response to this ***

Hi Cloud…

I accept your apology and I harbor no ill feelings toward you or anyone… believe me, when you get older, you’ll realize that it’s just not worth REALLY getting upset over. [Don’t sweat the small stuff]

And to be honest, I apologize for all the things I said in return or retaliation.

As for your requests, I will post your apology and my reply on my Site in all the appropriate places.

I will not remove your posts or what was said in the past comments.
I’m not doing it to “get back at you” or anything petty… it’s that I’ve never deleted any comments or posts on my site, just under general principles…
that the current Generation “Y” or “Z” [or whatever your generation will be called] seem to think that if something is “said” to someone, it can easily be forgiven and forgotten.

Think of it this way… if you had said what you said on my site to someone’s face, and then later regretted it (Like we ALL have done, and will do in the future) that someone can forgive you for what was said, but it doesn’t get forgotten… just disregarded.

So.. all is forgiven… and eventually it will be disregarded (archived) as old news… no biggie.

A wise person once said:
How long does it take to change the essence of a man?

The answer my friend… is Time. We all need time in order to change, to make a difference in our world.

Cheers!
Raven
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Hopefully this ends the feud between the Cloud and the Raven…