The Only Thing...

I like this campaign... it IS in your face. No sport is safe... "is the N in NFL for Nancy?" heh.

Do you follow sport? When you get past Vick and his dog fighting (ESPN synopsis here), the *other* biggest story right now is the gambling-ref scandal for the NBA.IN no other City than Dallas (home of NBA owner Mark Cuban) could they not just get away with their nba snip, but actually get an NBA owner to say "I think it's hysterical,". Heh, i really like Cubes. (and i can't wait for an episode of dancing with the stars this season, Mark, what are you thinking?)

Bo Knows Tecmo

I remember doing this. A lot.



Tecmo Bowl for the original NES. Classic!

Kid n' Diapers

Google search features are a huge supplier of targetted traffic to this humble site. In fact, the two most popular word-string searches for the month of August 2007, so far (wherein folks find jaceanderson.com) are both:

Diaper Cakes
&
Kid n' Play

Should this concern me?

Jenkem: Zambia

This article from BBC hits right to the heart.

"They are manufacturing "Jenkem", a disgusting, noxious mixture made from..."

"...nobody knows exactly where the idea for making Jenkem came from, but it has been used by street-children in Lusaka for at least two years. Nason Banda of the Drug Enforcement Agency is not proud when he says that it is unique to Zambia."

Do you ever feel helpless? The population of street children in Zambia continues to rise. I've been there twice now myself, and every time... hits right to my heart. The people of Zambia are warm, kind & searching, the country really is the jewel of Africa. Jenkem tho, is a terrible legacy to be developing. Children around the world (far away and near by) ought not ever feel truly hopeless.

Not unlike the jewel of Africa, Children are societies jewel, and how we care for them (or fail to care for them, as the case often appears) speaks volumes.

An excellent local expression of care for our children is Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Their IN School Mentor Program is worthy of your attention.

****UPDATE****

After reading further on the topic, there are thoughts that Jenkem might be a hoax. If so they spoofed BBC into reporting it in the article i linked above.
I would hope this was/is a hoax. It might have been easier to forget that way. That i merely perpetuated a clever lie crafted to cause disgust, despair (or worse).
UNICEF reports Jenkem abuse in Zambia: Evaluation report 2001 ZAM: Rapid Assessment of Street Children in Lusaka

(one comment i read tonight: "this isn't simply bad, it's the failure of human beings")
//Ouch

An article from the Mail & Guardian newspaper in Zambia: Bleak outlook for Zambia's street kids.

* * * * *

Blue Ocean Pirate

"You can keep your Bluebeards and your Blackbeards. The most successful pirate of all time controlled a fleet of more than 1,500 ships and upwards of 80,000 sailors --" - Mentalfloss

The pirate queen Cheng I Sao took pirating to a whole new level, exploiting industry generally left outside the realm of pirating all the while creating an economic industry in the blue ocean, thus devouring the highly contested red ocean.

/There is a website call mental floss? i like the internets. a lot.

Kenya's Kibera Kid for President

Dare to dream, and when you do; Dream Big!

"A new film set in Africa's largest slum Kibera - often associated with poverty and crime - hopes to shatter its negative stereotypes.

Kibera lies just outside the heart of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and is home to more than 1m people...

Fourteen-year-old Ignatius Juma, who plays Otieno, has taken to his new-found stardom with ease.

"I am very happy because I am the first person from Kibera to succeed in acting," he says.

"For me it is easy because I also act in school... Now, I am used to being treated like a star."

The film has awakened his dreams of making it big as an international film star.

Unless, he says, he succeeds in his first ambition to become Kenya's president.' - BBC News - Africa

Read the entire article.

This 12 minute movie is a part of an interesting project by US film maker Collett:

"We're not interested in giving people money; we are imparting knowledge and giving them an opportunity to do it themselves."

Hot Sun Films was inspired by and borrows its name from Kenya's informal jua kali industry.

In Kiswahili jua kali means hot sun and refers to crafts people who make their merchandise on the streets, rather than in a factory setting." - Hot Sun Films

Collett has done touching journalism focused on people of Kenya that will challenge you... human interest caught in the slums of Kibera. This will wrench your heart and may change you... to say the least.

The Baconator Made Me Do It

I like marketing. A lot. I could probably say that i *loved* marketing but, like the guy by the elevator in the recent Aero commerical "Love is such a strong word".

Subtle marketing for the soul is nice, but every once and a while i'll allow an in-your-face marketing campaign to grab my attention. How about that Baconator? The Official burger of the CFL. Heh. I love Wendy's. A lot. (Some folks aren't big fans of the new sandwich)

Lift The Lip (homage paid to Tim's Roll Up the Rim) today after lunch and won a free frosty. Them's are 1 in 9 odds. I'm hooked. So i grab both Pin #'s that i need to submit to the Wendys website and here i sit. I love the internets... i sure hope my odds carry on in my favor, i would love to kick for a million. Remember the last contest? The guy actually nailed the kick... he's raised the bar. I'm not sure if i'd nail the kick outside the 10 yard line, but in this contest, 10 yards is still worth ten grrr.

My odds would be infinitely better if i were able to use the PS2. (i kicked a 67 yard field goal once, Madden 2004 i think)

Anderson Leads Team Canada to Victory

I wasn't going to say anything but,
notice the boxscore for Team Canada's basketball victory over Venezuela (Fourth down from the top). i went 6 for 10. And played 33 minutes, more than any other team mate. Not bad after a long drive back from Pincher.

I love FIBA, i'm just glad we won...

Pincher Creek

Spent the day in Pincher Creek.
Beautiful town, just on the cusp of really booming (some might say it's already booming, but i feel a real tipping point in their future). Quite exciting really.
Great people too.

Thread Killer?

So, i don't often post comments on blogs that are rife with debate... debate and temper flares for the most part. i read, lurk and move on "nothing to see here..." etc.

I was compelled to post a comment on a blog over at medhatblog.com about a playwright's interest in meeting folks in Medicine Hat about their perspective on the Richardson Murders.

The thread was getting hot under the collar... it was, and then i commented.
It's been a couple days now... and nothing. Not even so much as a "shut up jace". Nada. Zilch.

I would love to know from the host if anyone is even visiting the page any more.

The thread in question.

/Thanks Dave for the title "thread killer". heh.

Monte stays in Federal Cabinet

As a personal fan of Monte and his political career, it was good to see that he was kept on after the shuffle.

"Minister of Human Resources and Social Development — Monte Solberg." - globeandmail.com

/wise move Harper, Solberg's star continues to rise.

Alberta Housing Advantage ;)

" About 10 condominium projects are going up... and builders are asking up to $1 million for units with granite countertops," - Breitbart.com

Heh.

With Classic Communities we also include granite countertops in all of our condo's. In Medicine Hat those (1000+ square feet)condo's are selling for $200,000 and less.

I guess the market in Tuscaloosa is just that rich.

State-run paper reports *suicide*

"BEIJING — — The head of a Chinese toy manufacturing company at the centre of a huge North American recall has committed suicide, a state-run newspaper said Monday."

And another comment, from the same article at the Globe & Mail

"It is common for disgraced officials to commit suicide in China."

Sadly, it seems that this man might have merely beat his government to the punch, so to speak. China's Draconian Response.

Gouda Time

Era ate Gouda today, for the first time. Gouda is dutch cheese, and era liked it. That was good.

During one of our trips to Kenya, we found a Dutchman managing a farm North of Nairobi. He'd been in Kenya long enough to perfect the manufacture of Gouda. Mmmm. We bought and ate a lot of Gouda on that trip. A lot of Gouda.

Studio Boy

My father and i had a great afternoon together today. Tomorrow, it's back to work (today was a holiday).

Era is out of town tonight, but i've got my pics handy. Enjoy.

Aberdeen Fire Response

The City of Medicine Hat has been on fire all day, or at least that is what it seems like.
r.h. and i were one of the early responders to a growing brush fire on the hill between Aberdeen and Kingsway (the hill behind the food bank). We saw the original wiff of smoke, and dropped in to see what was up. By the time we arrived the fire was getting thick, and trying to jump the asphalt walking trail.
Every fire truck in the City was already responding to fires elsewhere when the Redcliff Volunteer Fire Dept truck arrived, 3 brave men strong. They were natural recruiters, and pretty soon many others (and i) were in the thick of the smoke, hauling a water line into the flames... and later i had an opportunity to slay the flames myself.

after the hills were soaked, no embers left red, the City Fire Dept detachment showed up to relieve the Redcliff volunteers, tonight myself included.

That was the first time i recall having the opportunity to do more than stand and watch. It felt good. i could do that again. Now for a shower and some sleep, it's late, and work will come early this a.m.