Hi Everyone,

This is my first year participating in the Bell Walk for Kids help Phone. In my youth I personally used the kids help phone on numerous occasions, and looking back now, I’m not sure what I would have done or who I would have talked to if they weren’t available. Please, even if you can only donate a buck or two, every penny counts.

Thanks,
Ralph

You have been invited to pledge Ralph Meiers in the Bell Walk for Kids Help
Phone on May 1, 2005.

Secure online donations can be made with VISA, MasterCard or American Express
and an electronic tax receipt will be sent to you by email. You can make an
online donation now:

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/StartUp.aspx?SID=403814

By walking and raising pledges, Ralph is helping ensure Kids Help Phone can be
there 24 hours a day, 365 days a year:

– $50 will help 1 child realize that suicide is not the answer
– $100 will help a counsellor answer 5 online questions from kids that need help
– $500 will help send awareness materials to 250 Canadian schools to ensure that
young people know Kids Help Phone is there for them

For more information about the Bell Walk for Kids Help Phone, or to join us on
May 1, 2005, please visit bellwalkforkidshelpphone.ca.

Thank you for your generous support.

Kids Help Phone

What’s the hype? VoIP is radically transforming Bell Canada, and the Canadian telecommunications marketplace simultaneously. For those not sure as to what VoIP is, let me explain it to you.

VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol is simply using the power of internet technologies and network to place, route, and receive telephone calls.

My friend Tom sent me the following link http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/04/13/new.telephony.ap/index.htmlit’s an interesting read.

Testing

I saw The Ring II, much better than the first one (the story line was much more developed). Saw a preview for a movie called ‘The Island’, and it looks quite interesting.

I’m out.

This image was taken from what I presume is my mom’s Seventeen magazine circa 1974. Apparently my mom did succumb to the marketer’s magic by purchasing a can of the magic wonder. The image actually contains four instructions (of which only two are visible):

Spray, Fluff, Brush, go!

Below is a scanned image of my original Nintendo user manual. It was the late 80’s and my friend Brian and I were glued to our TV’s playing Zelda, Super Mario Bros, and some other game I now forget the name of.

In its latest version of Windows Media Player, Microsoft has re-titled, re-scripted, re-named major components of its popular online media player.

No longer is music copied from CD to ones desktop, laptop, or portable media device, it is “Ripped”, the feature in WMP is titled “RIP” – now add “OFF” and we have the following:
Definition:
!. To steal from: thieves who ripped off the unsuspecting tourist.
2. To steal: ripped off a leather jacket while ostensibly trying on clothes.
3. To exploit, swindle, cheat, or defraud: a false advertising campaign that ripped off consumers.

The process of ripping music/movies/files is how P2P file networks were built. It allowed media to be moved from a physical subtrate i.e. CD/DVD to a digitized file format which was stored on one’s computer/laptop/Portable Media Device.

I am seriously re-evaluating the role meat products have in my life. Philly and I ventured off to this nice little Euro Bistro called Europea.

I had a delecatable nine course meal. I had this dish called Pâté de foie gras – I noticed that every item on the menu was translated into English with the exception of this dish. Silly me didn’t bother to ask the waiter what exactly Pâté de foie gras was.

When the dish arrived it looked scrumptious – “Pan seared Foie gras scalop, Caramelized Tatin Apples”. The dishes consistency was interesting to say the least.

My curiosity got to the better of me when I arrived home from Montreal. I started doing some research on this delicacy. To my disgust I came across the following site: http://www.gourmetcruelty.com/about.php – this site is not intended for those faint of heart.

Now, If the menu had read I would have left the establishment immediately:

Pan seared Foie gras scalop (a grossly enlarged liver of a duck or goose. Medically known as hepatic lipidosis, foie gras is a disease marketed as a delicacy. Birds raised for this gourmet cruelty are force-fed enormous quantities of food through a long metal pipe three times a day. This process of deliberate and painful overfeeding continues for up to a month, by which time the birds’ livers have swelled up to twelve times their healthy size), Caramelized Tatin Apples.

I am disgusted with myself for not being well versed in French, but most of all I blame myself for not asking the waiter exactly what it was that I had ordered.

I recently read in the Hamilton Spectator that the Art Gallery of Hamilton will have its gala grand re-opening on May 26, 2005.

“The Hamilton-connection, all-star lineup has something for everyone for the grand opening of the gallery’s $20-million makeover on May 26.

The white-tie event of the year, with 600 guests, has been sold out for months and months, says Larissa Ciupka, gallery marketing and communications director”

To my disgust “Guests will dine on foie gras, scallops and beef tenderloin, and listen to performances by Opera Hamilton and Niagara’s Best Smooth Jazz Orchestra.”

I will be looking at pressuring the AGH to withdraw “Pâté de foie gras” from its menu lineup for its gala opening. Possibilities include PICKETING the AGH (as there will be huge media attention focused on the event). An e-mail will be sent to the gala’s organizers, and possibly the hamilton spectator.

If you have any suggestions or would like to partake in this event please do comment or e-mail me @ ralph.meiers@sympatico.ca . To comment please click the comments hyperlink and type your name or nickname and in the comment textbox, type your comment.

I was in Montreal over Easter Weekend (stayed at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth – John Lennon and Yoko had their famous bed-in at the Queen Elizabeth in the late 60’s)

It was a weekend of meeting new friends (Hi Anica), and partying with old ones (the one-of-a-kind Crystal Gem).

Phil and I partied at Unity II (http://www.club-unity2.com/home.php3) – However, due to our poor planning we didn’t get to attend “Bal en Blanc White”

The lineup included the who’s who in the electronica scene:
* TIESTO
* BENNY BENASSI
* MARCO G
* PREACH
* DAVID MORALES
* PETER RAUHOFER
* DEEP DISH
* JESTER
* BRUNO BROWN

Well it seems like my site is finally taking off. I seem to be averaging about 25 unique visitors a day. March 3-4 has been the best day yet. A whopping 55 unique visitors whose average time spent browsing is between 3-30 minutes.

Now that I’ve seen the numbers, I’m going to make it one of my daily tasks to ensure there is something new everyday for you to read. I’m also looking at having some less static content, i.e. pictures.

FYI, my aunt Diane Adams had her student’s theatrical opening night with their take on the classic movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”. The play is running tomorrow night starting @ 7:00 (I believe next Thrusday and Friday as well) at Sir Allan MacNab highschool in Hamilton. Tickets are $5.00 and proceeds go to support the ARTS.