And the Winner is...

So its official. We can't call the Americans stupid for at least a month. Why? Because for the first time in awhile, the American people have finally voted for and elected a smart person to be their president: Barack Obama.

Oh yeah, and he's black, too.

I have to say that even though I don't live in the United States, I'm really happy that Obama won. The USA is the most powerful country in the world, and its nice to know that a smart, articulate, well liked, patriotic and over all great person is in charge of it.

There's only one problem with Obama's win.

First of all, there are death threats flying left and right. Of course, with any president this is going to occur. There's always a few gun totting whack jobs out there that don't approve of your politics and would like to see you wiped off the face of the earth, and they think they're the person to do it. But this goes beyond that: for the first time ever, the United States has a person in charge who's African American. This means that before well hidden racist groups (and not so well hidden racist groups, aka the kkk) are surfacing in full force...and they're pissed. Which, of course, isn't right. I don't want to have to go on and on about why racism is BAD and over all IDIOTIC, so I'll just say this: we are all humans, black, white, yellow and every color in between. DEAL WITH IT.

The other thing that bothers me is this:

This entire campaign, Obama has been preaching about change. How, when he gets elected into office, things will be different, better, brighter for all of America. How a revolution is coming in the form of politics and that we can be happy again, we can hope again. Obviously, his message of hope and change was heard and echoed all throughout the US, and he's now president. As the first black president, the first president after the horrendous 8 year reign of Bush, and the person to be advocating a new wave of change to wash over the people of the United States...those people have come to expect a lot of him. And not just the people from the states, but all over the world. This election was important to a lot of people, and for most of us, our confidence is riding on Obama. Although he's said that at first, he and vice president Biden might make a few decisions that the American people might not like, I feel that people are still hoping for the unachievable:

That with Obama as president, the economy is suddenly going to take a turn for the better, instantaneously, troops will be taken out of Iraq, gas prices will plummet, global warming will disappear, the corporate fat cats of American will be shaking in their boots as Barack shows them who's boss, international relationships will soar, poverty will no longer exist, health care for everyone will exist, Osama Bin Laden will finally be found, hot button issues like gay marriage will be resolved, alternative fuel sources will be found, and they will be affordable, time machines will be invented, Indiana Jones 5 will NEVER be made, E.T WILL go home, and yes, Nancy Drew WILL solve the mystery of the Clue in the Ivy!!

Okay, so maybe those last few were a bit of a stretch, but you get my drift: Americans are expecting a lot out of Barack, and sadly, despite what everyone thinks, he will not be able to do everything. Change may happen, but it will be slow and small at first. Think about the situation in simple terms: George Bush had his fun, and left the big white club house where he hung out for a few years in ruin. Obama is walking into a mess, and it will take some time to sort through it all and really make some revolutions happen.

All I'm saying is don't hold your breath, America, and don't expect too much too soon. Barack is capable of great things, but you may have to go through a few disappointments to get to the good stuff. But after all, you should be used to disappointment: you just put up with 8 years of Dub-ya.

Thanksgiving Time In Canada

The fine citizens of the US an A below us might celebrate it 7 weeks later than we do, but for Canadians, its Thanksgiving. 

Now, for awhile, I was highly considering going on a rant about how pointless Thanksgiving actually is. If you think about it, once a year we slaughter thousands of unsuspecting turkeys, eat way more than we actually should, get together with our family, act chummy and nice for one meal, and say at least one thing that we're thankful for (because as long as you do this at least ONE day a year, it really doesn't matter if you're a total asshole for the other 364 days). But then I realized something:

The only people that are against Thanksgiving are total bastards anyway, and will be publicly proclaimed by the general population as such.

You have to be a hard core cynic to denounce Thanksgiving...because really, there's something in it for everybody. The caring, bleeding hearts in the family like the fact that you get to say out loud what your thankful for....these people usually also note that they are thankful for this EVERY day of the year....this makes them feel like superior human beings.

For the turkey loving obese person in your family, there is food. Glorious amounts of food. White meat, dark meat, ham, stuffing, gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes......be aware that most obese food loving individuals will treat this day (and also Christmas) like the Last Supper and eat until they forget their own names.

Of course, every family has the hostess (or hostesses). You know who the are, the aunts or mums or grandmums that love nothing more than to prepare food for their family. They secretly bicker over recipes for the best sweet potato casserole, treat Martha Stewart as Jesus, and love (and I mean LOVE) to be able to utter the phrase 'Oh, you like it? I made that dish! Secret family recipe, tried and true....' and so on and so forth.

There are also the sports enthusiasts, who use this as an excuse to get the 'team' out there and play some good ol' fashioned FOOTBALL! This is usual the men of the family who sit outside and rough it out with above mentioned hostesses make the food. Not only do they get to show off their manliness cleverly guised as a 'friendly game', but they also get out of helping to do something so un-manly as to prepare food.

To conclude the list are the gossips: the people that you see sitting around in the family room cradling glasses of wine and other beverages, whispering about who's gotten fat, who's been dating who and why on earth would she wear that?! Be cautious of these people, and never under any circumstances walk by them. By the time you're down crossing the carpet to the kitchen, these beasts will have already started mocking you silently. Beware, my friends. 

The amazing thing is, that even the cynics like Thanksgiving. Why? Because of what I just wrote. If you really are cynical, you appreciate the fact that you can sit back and see all these sub groups of people in their separate environments, and laugh. It also might warm your heart of stone to see all these people come together to achieve a common goal: consume until you've gained 5 pounds.

Its in this way that Thanksgiving is for everybody, there's no avoiding it. I really can't see how anyone COULD be against Thanksgiving. If you are one of the few, almost robotic people that are against this great tradition and holiday, then you can shove a turkey in it, shut up, and let the rest of us enjoy stuffing our faces with dead bird.

                                                             HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!