Beautiful People

Spring is finally here and people are emerging from under their hats, scarves, and large coats. Another aspect that has surprised me after moving here is how good the general population looks here. I haven't been able to put my finger on anything specific to explain why. It may be partly due to a different ethnic mix here. I can't say it is solely the French influence because I can't say I remarked that they were noticeable better looking when I lived there. Maybe it is the mix of English, Italian, and French speaking countries. It could be due to the ethnicities I grew up with (German, Polish, Hispanic, Irish) that I was tired of and this is new.
There are a couple other aspects that I am fairly sure contribute to the difference. People here are more aware of style and express themselves more through fashion. Also people here are noticeably thinner. I feel that is partly due to genetics and partly the lack of consumerism here.
I don't think I am alone in this observation and that it is not personal preference. Some people have told me that modeling agencies come to Montreal to recruit because of that reason. Although I should have known the people are good looking since I married a beautiful Quebec woman.

National Pride

That last post was a bit long. I’m trying to keep these short and concentrated on one subject, but I’ve been having trouble since it seems there is so much to say. The break since the last one was mainly due to March Madness. Posts should be coming more often.

I recently received the following ‘joke’ email :

YES, THERE IS A GOD!
Two things Navy SEALS are always taught:
1. Keep your priorities in order
2. Know when to act without hesitation
A college professor, an avowed atheist and active in the ACLU, was teaching his class. He shocked several of his students when he flatly stated that once and for all he was going to prove there was no God. Addressing the ceiling he shouted:"GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes!!!!!"
The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by.
"I'm waiting God, if you're real knock me off this platform!!!!"
Again after 4 minutes, the professor taunted God saying,"Here I am, God!!! I'm still waiting!!!"His count down got down to the last couple of minutes when a SEAL,just released from the Navy after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and newly registered in the class, walked up to the Professor. The SEAL hit him full force in the face, and sent the Professor tumbling from his lofty platform. The Professor was out cold!! The students were stunned and shocked. They began to babble in confusion. The SEAL nonchalantly took his seat in the front row and sat silent. The class looked at him and fell silent.....waiting.
Eventually, the professor came to and was noticeably shaken. He looked at the SEAL in the front row. When the professor regained his senses and could speak he asked:"What the hell is the matter with you?! Why did you do that!?""God was really busy protecting America's soldiers, who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole!!! So he sent me!!"

I find if funny that whoever wrote this threw in that the professor was associated with the ACLU. Like they are the enemy too. There is one thing that really irks me lately about many Americans and that is an over developed sense of national pride. Why should the US think it is better than another nation? The same applies to religion. Is a Christian better than a Muslim? Why is my god better than yours? Is this person bad because they don’t believe there is a god. That can be a subject for another post and it is not part of the goal of this blog. Back to the nation subject. The use of violence in the name of religion and nation is mainly the reason Osama bin Laden attacked the US. The government seems to be using the attack to further their ideals in the name of protection and revenge. What I find unfortunate is that the regular citizen has now become less accepting of others and more sheltered. It is a normal reaction when you get attacked, but something needs to be done to reverse it. In general, before the attack people had seemed to be moving in a direction of being more accepting of other. It would be nice to get back to that trend. I have not seen that over-developed sense of national pride here in Canada. It is a healthy sense of pride accepting of other cultures.