Mass Murder in Surrey B.C.

Murder is bad enough when it's the bad guys going after each other but it's a million times worse when an innocent bystander becomes the victim. Last Friday 6 men were found murdered in an apartment building in Surrey B.C., one of those six men was my first cousin Ed Schellenberg, from my mother's side of the family. I didn't know
Ed as an adult, at least that I can remember, I didn't see my family much growing up and practically not at all as an adult, now I live very far away. Nevertheless, I'm very sad for my family.

My younger sister called me with the news on Saturday, after Ed's brother had called her, the police hadn't released any names or details of the victims but they were sure it was Ed, he had gone to work as he was supposed to servicing gas fireplaces and wound up in that particular apartment at a very bad time. My first thought was that I hoped he went fast, didn't suffer at all, my second thought was I'm glad my aunt wasn't here to have to go through the pain of losing her eldest son, she died a few years ago. Ed had sent his co-worker home early that day, a move that saved his life although neither had any idea at the time.

It is gang and drug related the police are saying now for certain, one other victim was innocently murdered, he was a neighbour from an apartment below, the other four were known drug dealers according to the police.



RIP Ed.

The Vancouver Sun - Father of two in wrong Surrey apartment at wrong time
The Globe and Mail - Police: two Surrey victims in ‘wrong place at the wrong time'

Only in the US

Apparently it's illegal to feed the homeless in Orlando, Florida, read it for yourself here. Shocking isn't the word, disgusting, appalling, cruel are close, that a city in such a civilized nation would even consider such a law is absurd in the least. Best country in the world? Yah, right. If I lived there, I'd organize as many people as I could to go and feed the homeless every day just to spite this foolish law.

Oh Deer!

Why is it when an animal kills a human, no matter the circumstances, there is a mentality of having to kill that animal. Is it retribution, a need to get even with the animal? I just read a story on CNN.com where a deer that was in rut, breeding mode, attacked a farmer and killed him. When it's breeding time the animal becomes more aggressive, the farmer was in a pen with the deer when it attacked. Why was the deer penned in the first place and shouldn't a farmer or anyone who keeps animals locked up know the behaviour of that animal, especially if it's in rut? But the animal pays for the stupidity of man, again. Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry that the farmer lost his life but I'm equally sorry that another innocent animal has lost it's life.

We as humans have taken over so much land these animals belong to, then we disrupt them further by heading into the woods for our pleasure, most completely unprepared in what to do if approached by a wild animal. It's not surprising when an animal attacks in the wild, it shouldn't be a surprise anyway, they are after all, wild animals. The onus is on us to prepare for any possible encounters if we intend on trekking into the woods, it's not right for an animal to die because of our stupidity. Where are the animal rights people on this issue?

playing catch-up

We've had a dismal spring and summer with day after day of fog and so far fall looks like it's going to be wet, fun. It's not unusual for us to have fog but normally it burns off in the morning and comes back in the evening, this year it hung around so much even the local berries were delayed and not very plentiful. Some plants grew while others faired poorly, my carrots never really grew at all, they sprouted and sort of froze in time. More later.

TV, random thoughts

Has the history channel run out of history? They must have if they need to put CSI:NY on everyday.

I'm a new viewer to 24, I started watching it a few months ago on A&E and seen all but the 6th season, it's a good show but I have a few observations. The show is in real time, each episode represents 24 hours and each season has 24 episodes and represents one day so, now after watching 5 days worth of episodes, not once has Jack Bauer slept, ate, drank, peed, pooped, showered, shaved or brushed his teeth. I don't think I'd put that much responsibility on the guy, I'm surprised he's not suffering from dehydration and exhaustion.

CSI, I like the show but hate the arrogance. You are guilty until proven innocent on that show and they are never apologetic when they're wrong. Would a crime scene investigator really go after the bad guys or is it their job to find the clues only? If they are detectives as well then shouldn't they all be a CSI and if not, who processes the crime scenes for the cops? On Law and Order they call them CSU and they do call them in, the detectives don't process the crime scene.

Colony Collapse Disorder

Where have all the bees gone?

"Colony collapse disorder is the rapid loss of adult worker bees from the colony over a very short period of time". Commercial beekeepers would set their bees near a crop field as usual and come back in two or three weeks to find the hives bereft of foraging worker bees, with only the queen and the immature insects remaining. Whatever worker bees survived were often too weak to perform their tasks.

CNN - Mysterious honeybee killer could make dinner bland, USDA official: "This is the biggest general threat to our food supply"! Holy crap, is anyone paying attention? "The problem started in November and seems to have spread to 27 states, with similar collapses reported in Brazil, Canada and parts of Europe." I'm not sure about the one colony I know of here in Newfoundland, I could try and find out, I'm curious to know if we might be isolated enough for whatever it is that is causing this.

Our Planet

Read this , and then tell me you're not concerned.

The link above goes to a story on CNN's website regarding the planet's ability to absorb carbon dioxide, the term they use is 'carbon sink' and how, in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, this sink is full. If the sink can't absorb the carbon, it stays in the atmosphere causing the planet to warm, the greenhouse effect. This planet is warming faster than scientists originally thought, this new data expedites the necessity for change in a whole new way. Have you seen the movie 'The Day After Tomorrow'? Ironically it was on tv last night, the same day this newest study was released, it's not far from the truth.

I don't know how anyone can not be very concerned given all of the new information, it's hard to believe there are still debunkers, it will probably take natural disasters on a scale the Human race has never seen to convince some of these idiots.

Scientists didn't expect to be able to detect this for another 50 years or so, this is big. This means all of their projecting has to be reworked, this will not be good, especially for coastal places like here. I'm on borrowed time already so chances are pretty good that I won't see the worst of it, I hope, and I have to admit at this point that I'm glad I never had any children, not with the world we've left them.

There is an urgency that isn't getting across to the general public, we really need to change our ways, now, today, not tomorrow or next year, if we don't how many years will there be left? How much suffering will there be along the way? Already the hurricane season started early and there have been many powerful tornadoes, some in places that rarely see that kind of intensity.

I have a friend who travels a lot in both hurricane areas as well as tornado alley, I worry now and have lectured her on being prepared for the worst. She listens to the radio now instead of cds when she travels now, in case there is a weather warning anywhere nearby, that makes me feel a little better.

I'm not looking forward to whats to come but I will do my part, however small it is, to try and stop it from happening.

Goodbye Brandon

I've lived most of my life in Vancouver and the surrounding areas, you get used to the sound of sirens, it's either that or they'll drive you nuts. When I hear a siren here in Lawn, my first thought is 'was there a game today?', after a winning soccer game is about the only time you hear one, thankfully. I had a bad feeling yesterday when I heard the siren, I turned down the volume on the tv so I could try and place where it was, it was heading farther away so I assumed it was on it's way to the hospital and hoped that whoever it was was going to be okay. That was all, I went back to the show I was watching, ignoring that bad feeling.

After making my morning coffee I logged on to VOCM's website as I do every morning only to be greeted with the headline 'Teen Killed in Accident', I read the entry,
A single vehicle accident has claimed the life of a 14-year old boy from Lawn. Burin Peninsula RCMP say 4 other young people in the vehicle are listed in serious condition. The boy was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital in St.Lawrence. The collision occurred on Route 220 at the entrance to Lawn, just before 5pm last evening when the car left the road and landed on its roof.

I'm floored, tears start to flow and I don't even know who it was, I don't have to know, this is a small town, everyone knows everyone. Do I want to know? I regain my composure, the initial shock is wearing off, I realize I need to know, I start making note of who I see outside, school is out today, no surprise. This is not going to work I realize, I need to know who it was so I called my neighbour. It was Brandon. My heart sinks.

So young, so tragic. Brandon was a very sweet young man, he had a big heart, always had a smile and if I needed anything he was right there, nothing expected in return. Brandon brought over my little kitty when I adopted her from a neighbour a couple of years ago, he really liked her and she really liked him. He was gentle with her, Brandon had a quiet nature.

Brandon was from Marystown, he had just moved back here again to live with his mother not long ago. His mother had married a fellow from here, he has an older brother, I can't even imagine what they are going through.

I think of Jessica, another 14 year old we lost suddenly last year, she had walking pneumonia, within 24 hours of feeling ill she was dead. It wasn't that long ago, not even a year yet. This is a lot heartache for our little town, too much pain for the kids to have to go through.

The other four kids injured in this accident are all in serious but stable condition and are expected to pull through. Thank Goodness! They were wearing their seat belts, Brandon wasn't. Brandon should have known better, he knew about what happened to me and that I wouldn't be alive today if I had not been wearing mine.

Brandon, you will be missed.

--------------------------

I have since learned that Brandon was in fact wearing his seatbelt, I'm not sure if they all were but I know he was.

Brandon was buried on Monday past, May 14th, Jessica's birthday. The two will forever be linked.

What a waste!

Canada AM demonstrated a new product yesterday, a toothbrush that plays music in your head while you're brushing your teeth. I'll admit that's kind of cool but this item is something you can only use for six months and then you throw it out. Bad, very bad. We live in a disposable world, it's shameful how much we throw out. The funny part to this was the very next segment on the show was about a garbage mass the size of Alberta that is currently sitting in the Pacific ocean somewhere between California and Hawaii. If the size of this thing isn't stunning enough, it kills everything in it's path, isn't that a disturbing thought.

Apparently there is a whirlpool effect in the ocean that draws garbage to it adding continually to the mass, more information can be found at OceanGybe.com.

We're going the wrong way, this is evident every time you go shopping. Why do we need so many disposable products? Is it society demanding these types of items or is it solely the idea of the big companies? Are these products necessary? I've heard the argument that they save time and are convenient. Saving time, my favourite, we buy products designed to save us time so we can go make more money so we can buy more stuff to save us more time, etc., etc.

With more awareness globally about the environment and the damage we are doing to it, the big companies need to be challenged to produce more environmentally friendly products. Consumers should demand it and the companies should want it, we all benefit by producing less garbage. The all-mighty dollar can't be the most important bottom line anymore, this planet needs to be. Products like Swiffer, the money is in the disposable cloths used with it, I know, I use it myself, for convenience but in my own defense I am confined to a wheelchair, anything with a reach makes my life much easier. I would not mind in the least using a reusable, washable cloth with it, actually I would prefer it and have improvised on a number of occasions, with the Magic Reach as well.

The last good-bye

On Easter weekend Private Kevin Kennedy and 5 other young men were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, Kevin was from St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, the community next to ours. I drove through St. Lawrence a couple of days ago, there is such an air of sorrow, it's like that in a small community though, tragedy is felt by everyone.

I didn't know Kevin, he was only 20 years old, there's an online memorial, yellow ribbons and flags, Canadian and Newfoundland are proudly displayed not only in St. Lawrence but here as well, the two communities are intertwined in many ways.

Thank you Kevin, thank you to all of those trying to make the world a better place.

Tragedy at Virginia Tech

Students and teachers alike were afraid of him, it was brought to the attention of the local authorities but because he never actually did anything, there was nothing they could do. He killed 32 people, injured another 17 and took his own life.

A loner, he stalked women, on line and in person.

Laws need to be changed, I'm not talking about gun laws, if you're determined to commit murder, you'll get a gun no matter how good the gun laws are. They need some kind of prevention law where professionals can assess the mental stability of someone in question. Would society accept this kind of intervention in an effort to make the world a little safer or would it be rejected as an infringement on basic human rights?

It'll be interesting to see what kind of information about the shooter becomes available, maybe we'll be able to see what made him so angry.

Great Big Sea in Boston

So many times I've had a thought come to me but no one around to share it with at that very moment, this is why I started a blog, you never know, someone might want to read it. :-)

A friend of mine went to the Great Big Sea concert last night in Boston at the Orpheum, a good sized theatre for a band from Newfoundland but they earned it, they have toured relentlessly in the States for many years slowly gaining a following. My friend did enjoy the show but her reaction isn't the same as it used to be, we've been fans of the band for a very long time now, seen them through a lot, good and bad, you change as a fan after time, especially if you get to know the band as people, not just performers there for your entertainment.

We don't often see the behind the scenes struggles someone in the public eye can go through but sometimes you hear about. I know about the stalking, especially the one that causes so much grief. It's not something I enjoy knowing but it was obvious when this person came on to the scene that she would do what she wants, when she wants and how she wants, regardless of anyone else, including the band.

If you're told to f***-off by someone, on more than one occasion, you'd think they'd get the message but nope, there she is attending almost every single concert, up front as much as she can be. For anyone who doesn't know the story, this person is obsessed with Alan Doyle and follows him everywhere and I do mean everywhere. The man has no peace, not even at home because she stalks him there too when they're off the road, hanging out at places Alan's been known to go, hanging out on the street that he lives. It's sick and it's very sad. It's one thing for the occasional fan to take a trip to St. John's for a week or whatever but this woman spends more time in St.John's than she does in her own city, she's from Seattle. We know she's married, I've even met the fellow but what kind of a marriage do you have when your spouse spends all of her time following around another man she lusts after?

No borders can stop this woman, I know, why don't the band have a restraining order against her, she manages to stay this side of the law, so far, legally their hands are tied until she takes it further. Aside from telling her to f***-off on several occasions, they have sent threatening legal letters but to no avail.

I was watching Northern Mysteries the other day, this episode was about a stalking incident in Alberta, there were some pretty eerie similarities from following the victim to other countries, hiding in the shadows watching his every move to the desire to write a book about the victim.

How uncomfortable it must be to have someone you detest so much standing in front of you night after night, I don't know how they do it and now I hear she's hanging around the band's bus again, why we'll never know, they'll just tell her to f***-off again if she gets close enough to hear it. I think I can understand now why they haven't gone public with this, they've handled themselves admirably as most fans don't know about the stalking. From what I've heard, the fans that do know the story have been snubbing her, good for them I say, she hates that, attention is what she craves most, good or bad.

The best thing the band did was ban the stalker from the message board on their website, although she likes to say she left on her own accord. That's just it though, she spins so much she must be dizzy, the master manipulator I call her, she can twist anything to fit her own version of reality, one of the funniest things she does is to write in her blog about what other people do but really she's writing about herself. I'm amused that she is so bitter about the OKP (the message board at greatbigsea.com), to anyone reading her blog it should be pretty obvious she was banned, especially from what she says about other fans over there, it's really quite pathetic.

Why write about the stalker on my blog? Because I believe in balance, her sick writings are public so the truth should be as well.

Isn't it sad that when I think of Great Big Sea I can't help but to think about the stalker.