Actual God

I heard this song in the car this weekend with Heather on the way back from her cottage. See the lyrics below or watch the music video:

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"Laughing With"

by Regina Spektor

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No one laughs at God in a hospital

No one laughs at God in a war

No one’s laughing at God

When they’re starving or freezing or so very poor

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No one laughs at God

When the doctor calls after some routine tests

No one’s laughing at God

When it’s gotten real late

And their kid’s not back from the party yet

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No one laughs at God

When their airplane start to uncontrollably shake

No one’s laughing at God

When they see the one they love, hand in hand with someone else

And they hope that they’re mistaken

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No one laughs at God

When the cops knock on their door

And they say we got some bad news, sir

No one’s laughing at God

When there’s a famine or fire or flood

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But God can be funny

At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or

Or when the crazies say He hates us

And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke

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God can be funny,

When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way

And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini

Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus

God can be so hilarious

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No one laughs at God in a hospital

No one laughs at God in a war

No one’s laughing at God

When they’ve lost all they’ve got

And they don’t know what for

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Canadian God

From Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies...Members of a amateur theatre company are stressing, worrying, and whining the night before a big performance and the director who has been living in New York for the past 10 years is confused at what that are doing, the response is... "They are sacrificing to our Canadian God. We all believe that if we fret and abuse ourselves sufficiently, Providence will take pity and smile upon anything we attempt. A light heart, or a consciousness of desert, attracts ill luck. You have been away from your native land too long. You have forgotten our folkways. Listen to that gang over there; they are scanning the heavens and hoping aloud that it won't rain tomorrow. That is to placate at the Mean Old Man in the Sky, and persuade him to be kind to us. We are devil-worshippers, we Canadians, half in love with easeful Death. We flog ourselves endlessly, as a kind of spiritual purification."

Funny Stuff

This one is my favourite, but there a bunch of other great ones. See them here: Musical Stats

BC Videos

I still haven't worked my way through all the photos from BC but when I was last home Teri gave me these videos from our whale watching trip. Video was a way better idea than trying to take pictures!!

The first video, which is 2 minutes long, is part of the half hour long sealion kill we watched. You can't see the sealion in it and actually during the kill we didn't see it very often either. I was glad for that because it was very sad.

In the second video, which is after they killed the sealion, the male leader does this really cool tale flapping thing. The whole experience was just really intense and I'm so glad that we went.

Blank Stare

After a night out, Ottawa Erin always finds a ton of pictures like this on her camera. She doesn't take them, I do. When I get all dressed up, contacts in, and make-up on, I like to photograph myself, incessantly. Which is so horribly narcissistic, who does that? I like to think that I only do it once I am well into a night of drinking, but this one was taken while I was still pretty sober. They also all look fairly similar and are usually taken from the side because I like the shape line that angle gives me along my jaw bone, neck, and nose. I also smile in less than half of them and always have my eyes open really wide. I don't know quite what I look like here, bitchy or dumb or annoyed or something.

Quotes

My Birthday Present From Anna
On A T-Shirt: I'm only in it for the money (Department of English)

Classic Erin
Me: Uhh, he just needs to grow some balls!
Ottawa Erin: Ladies first

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart: Just another politician with a conservative mind and a liberal penis.

Overdue Congratulations - Part 3

Taylor - B.J.

Graduated with Highest Honours

Bachelor of Journalism
Taylor kept her scholarship, every year! That is a very impressive feat, especially as she learned pretty early on that she hated her program. Taylor's true passion is helping kids. She wants to work in Children's Aid and currently has a contract with them. It is hard to have her gone from Ottawa. However, she has promised to look after my piano in her house and I love visiting her there. I'm so proud of her and can't wait to see what she will get up to over the next couple of years.

Overdue Congratulations - Part 2

Kristen - B.J.
Graduated with High Honours
Bachelor of Journalism

Kristen was the master of the all-nighter. There may have been some occasional tears but her assignments always made it on time and got great marks. She worked for the university newspaper one year and seemed to always be taking me to see strange things because she had articles to write on them. She is a book lover to end all book lovers and is taking a Post Graduate Book and Magazine Publishing program at Centennial College in Toronto starting in the fall. Last I heard, after she finishes, she wants to go and work for one of the big publishing houses in England.