Dennis Hopper has an explosive but rocky start to his career. Hopper started in the mid-50s doing bit roles on television until his first major film role had him opposite of the All-American actor himself James Dean (whom Hopper was an immense fan of) in Rebel Without a Cause in 1955 and again in Giant in 1956. After James Dean’s fateful accident and death later in 1956, Hopper’s reputation as a “loose cannon” become apparent when he clashed with director Henry Hathaway on the set of From Hell to Texas when Hopper effectively refused to take directorial instructions from Hathaway for roughly 80 takes over several days. From this point on, Hopper’s career seemed almost doomed.

After studying under Lee Strasberg at the infamous Actor’s Studio in New York, Hopper caught a break when his (then) mother-in-law helped get him work with her close friend John Wayne. Hopper is known to have accredited the famous cowboy actor with saving his career with his roles in The Sons of Katie Elder and True Grit which launched Hopper back into the spotlight. During this time, Hopper also got a supporting role in Cool Hand Luke as well opposite Paul Newmann.

With his success now comfortably tucked away, Hopper took on his biggest role to date. With his directing debut, Dennis Hopper created Easy Rider, a cult-classic film about American counter-culture in the late 1960s with support from Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. Hopper was praised for his unique editing techniques, yet clashed numerous times on-set with Fonda as a result and also led to his first divorce. Hopper followed up in 1970 with The Last Movie which, despite being the top pick at the Venice Film Festival, failed to make a (positive) impression on the general public and critics alike.

Hopper continued with his success in both acting and directing throughout the 1970s appearing in both low-budget movies as well as high-budget blockbusters, including 1979’s Apocalypse Now which, to date, remains one of his most infamous and quotable roles. It was during this time and into development of Human Highway (a low-budget collaboration with Neil Young and Dean Stockwell) that Hopper’s drug use became much more severe and his reliability much less so. His excessive drug and alcohol use continued to spiral out of control leading to such events as an “artistic” endeavours involving himself, a coffin, and seventeen sticks of dynamite and later dissapearing into the Mexican desert on a particularly strong bender. It wasn’t until 1986 when Hopper finally entered a rehab program that his career finally got back on track.

Hopper continued his career as both actor and director and was featured in dozens more films and television series, cameo and guest appearances, and documentaries as well. He was married and divorced five times and continued throughout his life to be a magnet for trouble and controversy, but none the less led a full life with numerous achievements that few actors ever see. Hopper leaves behind three daughters and a son and a legacy that will last indefinitely. Due out in 2010, the films The Last Film Festival and Alpha and Omega will be his final performances.

The little fella has been described as “part beaver/part river otter” and does display many similarities between a variety of semi-aquatic rodenesq creatures of Ontario. Similar to, but not exactly replicating, that is. Most of the locals, who still live largely off of the fruits of the land and water (as it is a very highly isolated region) and are familiar with all the forest has to offer, believe it to be “The Ugly One.” Skeptics in the media and in homes alike aren’t exactly convinced.

When the animal was discovered, it was discovered floating face down in the water with its paws in the water as well. The images below (click “Read the rest of this entry,” but be warned they are somewhat graphic) of the animal show that the areas covered by water are completely bald. This is where much of the skepticism comes in as once an animal carcass has been in the water for a while, the fur becomes loose and simply falls out. Others, however, beleive that the little animal should have decomposed far more by the point that it would be bald.

Note the uniquely shaped teeth.

Since its discovery earlier this month, the story has hit virtually all major Canadian news outlets on television, on the Internet, and even in print. Researchers and zoologists around the world are more than eager to get their paws (excuse the pun) on the creature for scientific research and to determine whether it’s a run-of-the-mill woodland critter or if it truly is a unique creature lost to time. This, however, will prove difficult due to the actions of the discoverers/photographers.

The creature is roughly the size of a river otter.

As mentioned earlier, the critter was discovered by two outdoor enthusiasts and retrieved by their dog. After photographing the creature, the discoverers simply put it back into the water. Yes, after seeing something curious enough to warrant taking a variety of pictures thinking they discovered something unique, they released the dead creature back into the water.

This undoubtedly raises the obvious question on whether or not this is a hoax. It would be simple enough to do a little research into local lore and mthology, find something easily replicatable, and get the media buzzing. Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug isn’t new to mythology; In fact, the area has quite a few legends according to their official website.

The balding on the face, paws, and ear tips are consistent with being water logged.

But perhaps we’ll never really know. It is entirely possible for small animals such as this to exist in the world, and in fact similar discoveries of animals thought not to exist have happened in recent history. In Papua New Guinea, a group of documentarians were the first to capture the worlds largest rat (an actual new species, not a mutation). The remote areas of the world hold an extensive amount yet to be discovered, and the Omajinaakoos is no exception in remote Northern areas of Canada.

The whiskers are also not present, yet the pits are.

Whether it’s a myth realized or whether it’s just a couple of people with too much time on their hands, this event just goes to show that there is still much to be discovered about the world we live on.

In case you don’t know what Mount & Blade: Warband (simply Warband from hereon out) is, it’s the stand-alone expansion to the cult favourite game Mount & Blade, a completely open RPG/Medieval Combat game that, for history buffs and combat fans, doesn’t include any sort of magic, potions, or anything of that nature. It’s just melee and archery combat on a beautiful scale. What the game lacks graphically (as it’s an independently developed title from Turkey) it more than makes up for in awesomeness. Warband expands on the single player aspect with new weapons, armour, and features while adding the much anticipated multiplayer modes with enhanced (but still “dated” in most eyes) graphics. Recurring visitors may remember my Mount & Blade review that gives pretty strong accolades for the game.

When I do online pre-orders, I do so with IGN’s Direct2Drive now since Steam gives so much hassle when it comes to games not specifically designed for the platform. The alternative to D2D is Gamers Gate, the official mirror for Paradox Interactive (the publisher of the game), a small distribution company specializing in Paradox and independent titles. It’s a decent service, but my own experience is that when a popular title is released the servers either slow down incredibly or go down completely where IGN has the backing to ensure stable speeds and reliability.

This is where the inpatience comes into major play. Being the “official” distribution site, GamersGate got the beta first… By a few hours. I’ve been keeping an eye on this thread in the TaleWorlds forums about pre-order beta access, and eerily reminiscent to the Hearts of Iron III release, the droves began screaming boycott and refund because a company located on the West coast of the United States didn’t get the beta up when GamersGate did. Some interesteing posts that show this point:

LordDeath: 22nd still no key COMMON d2d !! is the warband even up yet?

COGlory: I believe you have to wait until 3 PM EST.

LordDeath: damn d2d are slow 3pm US time? thats in likt 7 hours lol

LordDeath: still nothing from D2D, seems like they dont even know bout sending beta keys … last time i get anything from them

SPQR: Hmmm.. I am trying to remain patient.. but I too have no response from D2D on the beta download with Key.  I sent a PM to their support center but have had no return action. Standing by.

Badtouch: Good luck with D2D support…I tried that hours ago and just got a generic response and no further action by them.

Trevty1995: Hurry up D2D!  I’m starting to get angry with them. Should we just go to Gamersgate?

SPQR: D2D BLOWS….. false advertising.. I am launching an anti-D2D campaign… I want a refund!

blix2006: i wonder if its to late to get the refund on d2d

COGlory: I’m pretty sure that theirs doesn’t start until 3 PM EST.  Just give it until 3 guys…

It goes on as you can expect. What these children (literally) don’t understand, expect for COGlory (who’s responses I put in for just this reason) is that D2D is IGN, IGN is located in Brisbane, California. When these immature and inpatient people were posting this it was between 5 and 7 am. GamersGate is a Sweedish company and, again, the official online distribution center for Paradox, and it was well into the afternoon. This exact same situation happened when Hearts of Iron III was released at a different time than GamersGate on D2D because, well frankly the employees weren’t due into the office for several hours.

There’s a recurring theme here on The Parade, and that’s that gamers have a high sense of self-importance. Newsflash: You’re not important. You aren’t owed personalized messages and nobody is required to go to the office at 5am to make sure you can play your beta version of a game that’ll be released in a week anyway. The second you hear people on forums demanding refunds and screaming false advertisement, you know exactly what type and the rough age of them. And like the Left 4 Dead 2 boycott, it’s already been forgotten because they eventually got what everybody else got and they didn’t have much left to complain about. I can assure you for a fact those who cried that they won’t support businesses again because they don’t work they way their uneducated 15-year-old minds think they should have already put their parents credit card information into them again to get the next product. Rinse and repeat.

The more time goes on the less I even care to get onto the Internet and check on things or work because this is the way it’s become. It’s only going to get worse, and with my family growing and life happening I don’t really care to hear children crying wolf every time something doesn’t go to their plan. Someday some of these gamers will go on to get business degrees and work for companies similar to IGN and Paradox and maybe they’ll see why years before they looked like complete asses and have to e-mail site directors and forum administrators getting them (myself included on many occasions having had this request) to remove their names because of how bad it makes them look via a Google search. Some, however, will continue to feel overly self-important and they’ll keep on living sheltered lives alone mooching off parents, masturbating to Internet porn, and feeling important and bullying people in online settings.

I’ll probably end up giving some more praise to this game franchise here on The Soft Parade, so if you have even the slightest interest in medieval combat or would like to put yourself into the hide shoes of a traveler, merchant, raider, or soldier from days past, then you’ll definitely want to hear more about it. Until then, check out what the game has to offer. Just don’t go into the forums.

What brings me to the counter today is political correctness and how incorrect it actually is. There have been some rumblings over O’Canada since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics that have reached all the way to parliament. “True patriot love in all thy sons command” is a line in our anthem and has been since 1908 when poet Stephen Weir wrote the poem to coincide with the 1880 composure by Calixa Lavallée. Now it appears that some find “thy sons command” to be sexist and are demanding change to something more “gender-neutral.” Perhaps they should change “true patriot love” as well since altering our national anthem doesn’t seem overtly patriotic to me.

The anthem was already changed by having a few lines added due to decisions by a joint-committee of MPs and senators in 1968 (adding “from far and wide” and “God keep our land glorious and free”) and is now in the crosshairs again. However, being a sensitive issue, politicians aren’t directly confronting the proposal directly and are in fact using the proposals as attacks on other political parties (naturally). “Anything that makes a national anthem more gender-sensitive is a good thing,” [Liberal leader] Michael Ignatieff told CBC News. “But, I mean, no disrespect to those who feel strongly on this issue, but, for heaven’s sake, we have some very important challenges and every time the government is asked to do something real, it does something symbolic.”

Have we come to a point in our culture where certain individuals are offended by our national anthem? If those people are offended by “all thy sons command,“ then they should probably start lobbying to change “mailman” and “manhole cover” to more gender-neutral phrases as well. Where does it end though? Will we have to go back in our history books and change “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind?” I wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit if that did become a valid argument within the next twenty years. Thank God Buzz Aldrin will have died of old age by then.

I’m a patriotic and law-abiding Canadian citizen and plan on being one until I pass on to the other side. But every time ridiculous lobby groups get just a little more of a foothold into our government, my patriotism goes down a notch… And I’m starting to run out of notches on my patriotism belt. So to all Members of Parliament, to Prime Minister Stephen Harper (of whom I could say some pretty negative stuff on), to all Canadians men and women alike… Please respect tradition and accept the fact that just because a word or phrase has “man” or “son” or any other masculine word in it that the English language and/or Canadian culture aren’t being sexist. If you’re that offended that easily though, chances are my plea is for nothing and you’ll start calling offense to my opinion on the matter. That’s just the way it goes.

If you don’t follow music news you may not have heard of the constant state of drama that Aerosmith has been in. 2009 was set to be a busy year for the rock super-Gods with a new album in the works and an as-usual heavy touring schedule, but as the year wore on so did the tensions between the band, specifically speaking frontman Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. On the surface, everything seemed fine up until an unfortunate accident in August of 2009. During the Sturgis motorcycle rally, Steven Tyler took an unfortunate fall during “Love in an Elevator” while he was dancing mid-song on a catwalk. The stage was reportedly still wet from rains earlier. This was the last time the band was seen together performing (except for one instance which you’ll see later in the article) as the rest of the tour, including all Canadian dates, had to be canceled due to Tyler’s injuries (a broken shoulder, stitches to the head, and other fall-related injuries).

Roughly a month later, Perry began to publicly express his frustrations with the tour cancellation and about his long-time band mate. In an interview with Perry, he stated that “he [Steven Tyler] and I haven’t written a song together alone in the same room in over 10 years, so there’s been some changes in paradigm of what Aerosmith is.“ It would appear as though there have been issues in the recording studio as well as Perry then added “The bottom line is that every hole that Aerosmith left, I filled.”

As time went on, the distance between the two only grew. By the end of September, the two still hadn’t talked at all or had any contact whatsoever. Rumours began to fly that the band was breaking up, but Perry stayed adamant that the band wouldn’t be split and that they would continue as long as they could. The rumours, however, would not go away, yet Perry continued to publicly state that the band has been through many ups and downs and would not disband.

“I’m an eternal optimist,” he said. “We’ve been though some pretty thin times and some pretty thick times, and there have been periods when Steven and I – for no reason other than just to get some space – have not talked to each other for months. Then we get back together and things mesh.“

Despite his dedication to the band and his fans, Perry was never shy about calling out Steven Tyler and telling him to “get his act together,” which showed to the fans both a desire to continue their work yet also showed a strong resentment that only fueled the break-up rumours. The band was slated to play a few sets in Maui, Hawii in October due to legal obligations (they had canceled shows a few years earlier), yet Tyler skipped rehearsals and didn’t join the band until moments before they were set to go on stage. There was virtually no communication between Tyler and his estranged band, so much so that Joe Perry learned that Steven Tyler was beginning to pursue a solo career and possibly leaving the group until he read it on the Internet.

It wasn’t until November 11 that, at a solo show of Joe Perry’s, that Steven Tyler made a surprise appearance on stage mid-way through the show.

“I just want New York to know, I am not leaving Aerosmith,” Tyler said, before turning to Perry and stating: “And Joe Perry, you are a man of many colours, but I, motherfucker, am the rainbow!“

Perry had no idea that his long-time band mate wouldThe buck didn’t stop there, however. Tyler had stated that he did wish to take a hiatus from Aerosmith, perhaps up to two years, to which Perry replied that the band simply wouldn’t wait around for him. “The band’s too good to let it sit around. We’re not going to wait for Steven,” he said. The band has since began looking for a replacement singer.

So what does this mean for Aerosmith? Well, regardless of whether Tyler actually leaves, Aerosmith as a brand will probably continue. Any musician, whether he/she is successful or just likes to jam with friends will tell you that if there’s no chemistry between members there’s no band. It’s clear that over the last few years, and specifically the last few months, that what little chemistry Steven Tyler and the rest of the group had has left. This probably explains why the band hasn’t released a new album since 2001 and why it’s taken so long for their work-in-progress album to gain ground as well, but only time will tell.

Should Steven Tyler leave, that’ll be it for me personally. The four members of Aerosmith that are still there play together phenomenally, but without the unique vocalizations of Tyler, they’re just a good instrumental band, and that’s not what Aerosmith is (despite the ego of Perry stating that they are indeed a guitar band first and vocal second). Aerosmith has been fraught with trials and tribulations over their fourty year career ranging from personal problems spilling into the band to constant drug battles (Tyler having been put into rehab again just last year), but it seems that there’s just no recovering from something like this. Both men [Perry and Tyler] have egos bigger than their music and they simply just don’t get along. Aerosmith may still exist as a brand name with the same talented fellows playing the instruments, but the band has been splintered and that’s that. It’s been a good few decades, but the elevator has reached the bottom floor and there’s just nowhere left to go.

To keep up on the Aerosmith developments (and to catch up on the recent news and interviews), I suggest you check out Ultimate-Guitar.com’s news pages (filtered for Aerosmith news).

Many of you will have probably read the Jon Krakauer book or seen the Sean Penn docu-drama film “Into The Wild” and know the general basis for this article while some of you may be reading about this for the first time. This amazing story (the film being based on the book) chronicles Chris McCandless from his comfortable suburban life and University education and follows his travels across America. Having given all of his money to charity, abandoning his 1970s Datsun B210 after it (and nearly he) was washed away in a flash flood, he set forth to his ultimate destination of Alaska. It was his ambition to live a period of solitude in the Alaskan countryside before returning to his life in society. Chris had no survival experience, very little money, and no means to get there. But that wouldn’t stop him.

Chris, renaming himself to Alexander Supertramp (a direct reference to the 1908 book The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp by William H. Davies), would make his way on foot to the far North. Along his way he would take any opportunity for exploration that he would encounter, almost always going into dangerous situations (such as canoing down the Colorado River into the Gulf of California) with very little preparation, experience, and equipment. For a time he worked in South Dakota in a grain mill where he began to prepare for his final destination and acquiring hunting and meat preservation tips from local hunters and friends. Having prepared, at least in his eyes, for his “Alaskan Odyssey,” he set for Fairbanks, Alaska where he bought a Remington Semi-Automatic .22LR (with 400 rounds), some very basic camping supplies (such as a sleeping bag, cooking pot, etc.), and a book on the local Alaskan flora and fauna.

This is where he encountered the last person to see Christopher alive. Jim Gallien (who coincidentally played himself in the movie Into the Wild), a Fairbacks local, picked up the woodby woodsman and took him to the entrance of the “Stampede Trail,” an abandoned mining road long overgrown with vegetation. Gallien pleaded with Chris to abandon his quest during the drive, but was in vein. He even offered to drive him to Anchorage to buy further supplies, but Chris turned down this assistance. The only help (apart from the drive) that Chris accepted from Jim was a pair of rubber boots, two tuna-melt sandwiches, and a bag of corn chips. Christopher McCandless, a.k.a. Alex Supertramp, set down the winding trail without even a compass or map for an adventure and a period to truly discover himself.

Chris kept a simple journal of his journey containing mostly one line entries. The journal reflects the excitement and exuberance Chris felt while making his way down the snow-covered trail, his discovery of “The Magic Bus,” a Fairbanks City Transit bus that had long-since been abandoned on the old road and converted into a makeshift survival cabin by hunters. The journal became darker and more telling of hardship as time went on. While Chris was able to trap and shoot a variety of small game (hares, porcupines, etc.), he felt his body wasting away. He did manage to kill a full grown moose but was unable to properly preserve the meat. While in South Dakota, he was told to smoke the meat immediately to preserve it, but for whatever reason he failed. The usual method of meat preservation in the Alaskan wilderness is to cut the meat into thin slices and air-dry it in the sun, thus making it into a jerky.

One of last image of Chris McCandless alive.

While Chris was getting a somewhat steady diet of meat, he was suffering from what is known as “rabbit starvation.” This is when one eats only extremely lean meat and doesn’t get any fat intake.His journal covered 189 day, 113 of which were spent in the bus itself. His final entry, keeping with his one-line posts, simply read “Beautiful Blueberries.” He also tore out the final page from Louis L’Amour’s memoir (one of many books he took with him) which reads:

Death’s a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made
Something more equal to centuries
Than muscle and bone, is mostly to shed weakness.
The mountains are dead stone, the people
Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quietness,
The mountains are not softened or troubled
And a few dead men’s thoughts have the same temper.

On the back of that page, he wrote his farewell.

“I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!”

His body was found 19 after the time of his death bundled inside of his sleeping back inside of the bus. His estimated weight at time of death was only 67 pounds with the official cause of death reading as starvation. Author Jon Krakauer stated in his book that Christopher also ingested toxic plant seeds known as Hedysarum alpinum, but toxicology reports there being no alkaloid toxins in his system. This was also portrayed in the movie, but is indeed incorrect.

There has been much controversy over his death. While there are countless thousands who have been inspired by his life and his journey, many also see his death as needless and completely avoidable. I personally am astonished by his story and his journey, but as an experienced outdoorsman I also agree with those who feel his death was a waste. Alaska, and the far North in general, is a harsh and unforgiving environment. Had he taken Jim Gallien’s advice and went to purchase all of the necessary equipment, it would have been almost guaranteed that he could have walked out safely.

Where the bus is located is only 28 miles hike from the main road at the beginning of the trail where he was dropped off. Chris did plan on returning to the road and made an attempt at doing so, but the Teklanika River which he was able to forge when he entered was impassable due to raised water levels and a strong current. Had he purchased just a basic $10 topographic map of the area he would have known that,no less than 1/4 of a mile down the river was located a hand-operated tram. It would have taken him in his condition only a few days to make it back to civilization had he known there was a tram down river. There are also several survival cabins along the trail as well which are erected by the Alaskan government for lost hunters and campers. Each cabin is well-constructed, warm, dry, and contains food and medical supplies. Again, a map of the area would have shown the location of these. Chris also didn’t study the local hunting and preservation techniques either, as mentioned earlier in this article. Had he cut the meat from the moose he had killed properly and simply sun dried it, he would have had more than enough protein and fat to survive and even gain back some of the weight he had lost.

So this brings me to the moral of the story I guess you could say. It’s a beautiful idea to connect with nature and to shake off the materialism we have all become accustomed to. Living a simpler life with nature in solitude, if even for a month or two to “escape” isn’t beyond the realm of possibility for some, but for most it is. Most people have become spoiled with the modern conveniences and people simply lack the common sense of survival. So if you plan on going out into the wilderness off the beaten path, or even if you plan on going camping for a night or for a day hike, it’s important to prepare for your journey well in advance.

Carry with you the tools you will need for survival and keep a variety of things on your person. A simple multi-tool and a good, sharp knife with a knowledge on how to sharpen and maintain it can ensure your survival indefinitely. Being able to start a fire without man-made fire starting implements is also an essential tool for anyone planning any sort of extended wilderness adventure where matches or lighter fluid may run out. But most importantly, know your surroundings and know your self. Chris McCandless didn’t know the Alaskan wilderness at all, had no pre-existing survival skills, and despite being very strong willed and physically fit, over-estimated his own endurance.

Chris McCandless was idealistic, spiritual, and lacked the fear that holds most of us in our 9-5 jobs. But he was also wreckless. He leaves behind him a legacy and a story that has touched and inspired countless people and will probably continue to do so for generations. In his short life he accomplished more than most could ever dream of, and he died accomplishing his dream. So in that sense, maybe his death isn’t a bad thing. How many of us will die in a place we love in the middle of our life’s dream? Not many, so in essence he’s one of the lucky ones.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris McCandless, then please visit www.christophermccandless.info. There you will find his complete story as well as photographs and information on both the book and the movie.You might also check out The Road Chose Me, a blog about the adventure of “Dan,” making a trek down the Pan-American road from Alaska to the furthest tip of South America. He made a pilgrimage to the site of Chris’s amazing adventure and his death and chronicles it in his posting.

The eight anniversary of the September 11 attacks passed yesterday, and it’s a day that should always be remembered and honoured. With any large scale event not caused directly by nature, people will question it and develop theories, some more believable than others. Television isn’t one to pass up on something that’s close to people’s hearts and gladly ran a two hour 9/11 conspiracy special. Naturally I watched it, I always love to see what people are saying about things like this, JFK, the moon landings, or whatever, and I can honestly say I was disgusted with these so called truthers.

The special (aired on the Discovery Channel and History Television in Canada) sat down with several truthers as an expert panel and sought to quell some of their notions about that day. Like I said, things should be questioned, and I for one believe that there was more to the 9/11 attacks then is public knowledge, and I’ll address this later, but questions do receive answers. It became painfully obvious to me that dedicated truthers don’t care about answers, or even science for that matter. Several topics that were raised by people who think there was more to it all were addressed by experts in the matter. For example, there are many who believe that both of the twin towers were brought down by controlled explosives, there are even a handful of witness reports stating that they heard a series of  loud “cracks” before the towers collapsed, and this coupled with the rather neat way they fell into their own footprint is what brought the topic up to begin with. I’ll admit, it’s a strong argument, especially with the fact that both towers fell in a similar way (into their own footprint as opposed to falling sideways or partially collapsing).

So the documentarians went to a true expert in building demolitions. A building demolition company that implodes buildings for neat demolitions for a living and is dedicated solely to that field. They state that, for the size of the twin towers, it would have taken no less than six months with a crew of one hundred demolition experts to rig the building for demolition with having to expose the main support piers (which were covered with fire retardant and building materials such as drywall and concrete). The only window of opportunity that was open for this type of project to undertake was elevator renovations a year prior to the collapse, and this is an entirely plausible window of opportunity (ignoring the fact that someone somewhere in the building would have noticed the elevators not being upgraded and there being explosives throughout the building for a year). The first debunker of this popular view is that there were no signs of demolition equipment anywhere after the buildings collapsed. Such devices would include detonation cord, explosive residue, and the clean cut of a shape charge on an iron pillar. The truthers have an answer to this seemingly solid story, and that’s the use of a super-high tech painted form of thermite that is supposedly researched by a secret government program. So the experts (a company that specializes in testing the effects of explosions and fire on structures) created the most potent form of thermite they could possibly muster and attempted to destroy an iron support column that was no more than half the size of those in the towers. The explosion (more or less the thermite just burning off) did little than blacken the iron. Still, the truthers would not accept this scientific experiment done by experts and retained their stance of an unavailable explosive that, even in the best of scientific theories, would have done nothing.

There’s no point in listing every single theory presented and debunked here, you’ll have to check out the show or do some online research, but you’ll see that for every question they raised in the show there was a physical demonstration and experiment to show that it was incorrect. Going back to my belief that there is more to 9/11 than the report shows, one of the truther “experts” in the show, who couldn’t have been more than twenty-two, stated that “if we were the victims like they say we were, how come they won’t give us the full story?” He said this in regards to the 9/11 Commission not disclosing full information as the investigation is still ongoing. I have an answer for that young man, and it’s called national security. Why in any realm of reality would anybody lay out how terrorists managed to pull off the biggest attack since Pearl Harbour and the flaws in North American structures and the flaws in national security? Yeah, America was a victim, but if you print a manual on how that came to be, you can more than likely expect another well planned attack or two.

Conspiracy theorists are like the debate club in junior high school. They want to look as though they have all of the answers and will reach to far-flung hearsay answers so as not to look stupid in front of their friends. Many of them (as in the documentary) will even go as far as to say “I’m not saying this is fact,” but will defend what they say endlessly. If they had any physical evidence or any scientific proof to back up their arguments, then I would be fully inclined to believe them. But they don’t, all they have are what-if scenarios based off of incredibly far-flung ideas and notions that there is some sort of big brother pulling strings.

The biggest thing truthers have against them is humanity itself. For any number of the conspiracies they lay out for 9/11, thousands upon thousands of people would have to be involved. It’s a virtual impossibility for there not to be someone who mentions something to somebody somewhere along the line, it’s simply impossible. Even the Manhattan Project had secrets stolen from it during its time. People have to face the fact that George Bush didn’t kill thousands of his own people to start a war in a country he probably couldn’t even pronounce at first, especially with the fact that Bush is a devout Christian. Simply put, truthers who ask questions need to be prepared for the answers they receive.

I could go on for another 1200 words from here, but I won’t because there’s no point. As much as I want people to simply open their eyes to what people are saying, it’ll never happen. Nobody wants to look stupid when they’ve staked their entire reputation on something, especially if they’re delusional about it all (not saying all are, but some definitely). If you have questions about 9/11 or any other conspiracy-rich event in our history, take it upon yourself to do some research. Ask the experts, read the books, conduct your own experiments. You may already be prepared to be right, but you need to be prepared to be wrong as well.

From the outside, The Gold Star has a rustic small-town kind of feel to it, something we both look for and enjoy. This wasn’t on purpose as when we walked inside, it’s as though we walked into 1977. But I’m not so superficial that I won’t eat at a restaurant because it hasn’t been renovated since it was built, but the immediate vibe I felt wasn’t a good one. Still, it’s only the look, so it doesn’t really matter that there was wooden “mack tack” (plastic sticky sheeting) everywhere and the bright red seats were held together by duct tape.

The waitress was the first issue. When a restaurant of any caliber has daily specials, the best way to let the customer know about them isn’t “the specials are in the menu.” That doesn’t sound very special to me, don’t you think? When she did take our orders, she did bring our Pepsi in only a minute or two. The Pepsi, straight from the can, came with one straw… We ordered two, but only one straw. I don’t drink with the straw anyway, but it’s not really her place to assume I don’t.

At every Chinese restaurant I’ve eaten at in my entire life, it’s never taken more than ten minutes for our food to arrive. After the first ten minutes of waiting, I received my egg roll as an appetizer and Gillian received her store-bought bread roll. The egg roll was older than myself, hard as a rock with one bite worth of cabbage on the inside with enough beef to take up the space that the end of my pinky finger does. We proceeded to wait another fifteen minutes as two other tables who came in long after we did got their food, one gentleman who came in five or seven minutes after we did ordered, ate, paid, and left before we got our “main course.”

At this point I was annoyed, but I held out faith for the food. I ordered one of the daily specials that came with the one small and old egg roll, five chicken balls, some honey-garlic ribs, and a helping of Chinese fried rice. I went for the chicken balls first, and with every bite I took I couldn’t taste anything but the grease. Having worked fast food before I know that when all you can taste is grease, it’s because the deep-fryer hasn’t been cleaned in a long time. I was attempting to eat my rice with the chicken, but the soy sauce drenched rice was incredibly dry and tasted burnt, so I gave up on it. So that left the ribs, which tasted just as old as the egg roll. So by this it took over twenty minutes to deliver me food that tasted like it was sitting around all day. I didn’t finish even half of my meal before I got disgusted. $7.50 plus the $2 or so for the can of Pepsi.

Gillian ordered the Seafood Platter which came with a piece of breaded haddock, deep friend scallops, deep fried clam strips, fries, coleslaw, and peas for $13.75. The clams and scallops tasted at least average, but the scallops did have a slightly tinged taste and smell to them, leading us both to believe they may have not been the freshest seafood ever served. Since I had eaten like an anorexic bird I was snacking on her fries, which were so cold you could swear they had been in the refrigerator. Gill too didn’t finish her meal as she became disgusted by the flavourless haddock (again due to the dirty deep fryer) and we left. It’s also worth noting that none of their dishes matched and their utensils were covered in water stains.

This disgusting and poorly cooked meal cost over $27.00 with taxes included. I didn’t pay myself as I couldn’t wait to get out, so when Gill brought back my debit card and receipt I had to talk myself out of going in and demanding my money back from the owner, one Frank Fong, who was at least 75 years of age and whom had a hunched back and walked extremely slowly. Seeing him answered why our meals were cold at the very least.

Another complaint I have about this place is their pricing structure. For example, if you ordered a sandwich and wanted a very thin slice of tomato added, it would cost a dollar. A loonie for a slice of tomato. You could go to the farm markets in the area or even the larger grocery stores and get at least one entire tomato for a buck! If you make any alterations to their menu (i.e. changing a way you want your chicken), they charge you for that. If you order a family meal for take-out, the prices are the same but doesn’t include the drinks included in the price. There are a myriad of low-brow price tactics they use that I won’t even bother listing here.

The Gold Star is located just off of Highway One in Coldbrook, Nova Scotia. McDonald’s and Wendy’s are both located down the street, too, so do yourself a favour and get something that’s eatable, cheaper, and sadly to say healthier. This is by far the worst eating experience in my twenty-three years on this Earth and I highly urge you to stay away from this establishment.

Why was I browsing themes, you may ask? I was thinking about starting a new site dedicated to the paranoia… You know, aliens and all that stuff. Yeah, I believe in aliens and I think there’s something fishy about the Kennedy assassinations, but I’m not a nut about it (man did land on the moon, damnit). But instead of splitting my resources between one area of the web and another, I’ll just post such things here when they come to mind.

So what does this mean for the future of The Soft Parade, you may ask? Well, not a whole lot, really. The site looks different, it has more practical features than it did before (namely the navigation and the crunched posts), and that’s about where it will end. If you happen to think there’s more to certain subjects then authorities will initially have you believe, then you’ll probably appreciate when my paranoia sense tingles and I decide to write about it.

So keep reading, start commenting, and let the good times roll. But of course if you don’t like this new look and prefer the older (or something different all together), then leave your comment and give your suggestions. When I get bored I alter, so some direction wouldn’t hurt at all.

Update: A few of my buddies and myself all agree that the last look of the site (the one this post is dedicated to) is devoid of any personality. Until I can design or find a new WordPress theme more suited to my personality, we’ll stick with the classic theme that’s up now. It’s damn pretty, so maybe I’ll just update this one, so stay tuned for further developments!

But that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods, in fact it’s quite the opposite. The North American “jet stream,” an invisible stream of air in the atmosphere, will interfere with Hurricane Bill and effectively steer it up the coast line and toward Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. At this point it’s far too early to predict where the hurricane will strike, which even with the difference of a few degrees can make a very different impact, but all models point to the hurricane getting uncomfortably close.

The hurricane is expected to get within striking distance in the morning hours of Sunday, August 23, with large swells (two or three meter high waves) reaching the coastlines on Saturday. The heaviest rains in the hurricane are to the left and closer to the eye (center) of the hurricane with expected amounts ranging from 50mm in the more distant reaches to up to 150mm the closer to the storm you get. Different sources are citing the hurricane may die down to a tropical storm level (much weaker winds, but still significant), but may retain a category one or even category two force of winds by Sunday. With having a hurricane at this point in the hurricane season (which officially lasts from June 1 until November 30) with the warmer waters and coupled with the more active weather we’ve been having as of late, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility to have the more powerful of the possibilities.

Even with the best case scenario, all of Nova Scotia can expect to see heavy and constant downpours of rain which may lead to flooding and flash flooding, especially in lower-lying areas of the province. The coast can expect to see heavy surf and currents between Saturday and late into Sunday or possibly Monday morning and, even with a distant tropical storm, can expect to see heavier than normal winds.

Some projected paths of Bill.

If the hurricane is pushed on land of the province (which according to many computer models, it may), the wind forces will be far stronger and more damaging with the heavier amounts of rain being pushed inland to New Brunswick. The sailing competition in St. Margaret’s Bay have already been cancelled as a result of this storm with many changes being made to the Prince Edward Island hosted Canada Games as well.

It’s important to be prepared for the storm, even if it is only a tropical storm once it hits. It is very likely for power to go out on account of the winds and high rains and may only be for an hour, or if the winds are stronger and damage is more frequent then could be off for up to 48 hours as Nova Scotia Power deals with the damaged lines. It is also important to ensure any loose items from your deck or lawn be stowed away safely indoors or inside of a tool shed, items such as lawn furniture, lawn ornaments, sporting equipment, and even your BBQ as well to be on the safe side. As a pet owner and lover, I can’t stress the fact that all animals should be locked inside of your house, effective of Saturday evening.

To be prepared, each household should have an emergency kit prepared in case of prolonged power outages or injuries caused by winds and falling debris. Such a kit should include the following:

• 72 hours of non-perishable foods (canned goods, vacuume sealed foods, dry goods, etc.)
• 72 hours of drinking water per person (1 gallon per person per day)
• Complete first-aid kid (bandaids, gause, anti-septics, needle & thread at the very least)
• Manual can opener (you’d be surprised…)
• Flashlight (1 per person) with at least one set of extra batteries per light
• Candles (at least two per used room in the house)
• Battery-powered radio (the higher quality, the better) and extra batteries

It’s also important to remember to have enough food and water on-hand for your pets. Make sure their food stores are plenty and fill up the kitchen sink (or bath tub) with fresh water. If you’re worried about your meats and other freezer items spoiling and making a mess, pack your freezer full of ice to essentially make everything one giant ice cube. Freezing 2 liter bottles of water is a good way of doing this and to ensure you have extra water in case it is needed. It’s also worth mentioning that while playing in the rain is fun (and there will be a lot of rain), playing in the rain and getting crushed by a tree limb isn’t, so stay inside.

Some people may think I’m being overly cautious or paranoid, but a little reminder that a lot of people thought Hurricane Juan wouldn’t be as bad as it was either. When Juan hit Nova Scotia, the highest sustained wind was recorded at 160km/h with gusts exceeding 200km/h. Two meter high surges (the highest on record) were constantly barraging the shores causing heavy damage but with a relatively low rainfall amount of 52mm (due to the fast moving winds and the dry end of the tail). Some residents in Nova Scotia (mostly in the central areas of the province) were left without power for up to two weeks, with a total of 700,000 Nova Scotians having lost power for some degree of extended time

Devastation from Hurricane Juan in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hurricane Bill might be little more than welcomed rained for the crops, but it might make Juan look like a gentle summer’s breeze too. If you’re not prepared for the worst and the worst happens, little can be done to dig yourself out of that situation. Be prepared, be safe, and at the very least you’ll know you’ll have done the right thing by yourself and your family. Keep checking The Weather Network and/or www.theweathernetwork.com (you can seaach your individual city or town) for updates as well, and when or if the power goes out, be sure to tune in to a local radio station for the latest weather reports and reports on your local area.