How Many Squares?

Answer in the comments if you like

Click here for some help

So I lost my phone...

Last night a friend rushed me out of the house to catch the opening act at a local bar's music night. After a few drinks I realized my phone wasn't in my pocket. I checked the table we were sitting at, the bar, the bathrooms, and after no luck I used my friend's phone to call mine.

After two rings someone answered, gave out a low raspy giggle, and hung up. They didn't answer again. I eventually gave it up as a lost cause and headed home.

I found my phone laying on my night stand, right where I left it.

After working a hard day I came home to see my girlfriend cradling our child. I didn't know which was more frightening, seeing my dead girlfriend and stillborn child, or knowing that someone broke into my apartment to place them there.

He Stood Against My Window

I don't know why I looked up, but when I did I saw him there. He stood against my window. His forehead rested against the glass, and his eyes were still and light and he smiled a lipstick-red, cartoonish grin. And he just stood there in the window. My wife was upstairs sleeping, my son was in his crib and I couldn't move I froze and watched him looking past me through the glass.

Oh, please no. His smile never moved but he put a hand up and slid it down the glass, watching me. With matted hair and yellow skin and face through the window.

I couldn't do anything. I just stayed there, frozen, feet still in the bushes I was pruning, looking into my home. He stood against my window.

Don't be scared of the monsters, just look for them. Look to your left, to your right, under your bed, behind your dresser, in your closet but never look up, she hates being seen.

Hell

There was no pearly gate.

The only reason I knew I was in a cave was because I had just passed the entrance. The rock wall rose behind me with no ceiling in sight.

I knew this was it, this was what religion talked about, what man feared .. I had just entered the gate to hell.

I felt the presence of the cave as if it was a living, breathing creature. The stench of rotten flesh overwhelmed me.

Then there was the voice, it came from inside and all around.

"Welcome"

"Who are you?", I asked, trying to keep my composure.

"You know", the thing answered.

I did know.

"You are the devil", I stuttered, quickly losing my composure. "Why me? I've lived as good as I could".

The silence took over the space as my words died out. It seemed like an hour went by before the response came.

"What did you expect?"

The voice was penetrating but patient.

"I don't know .. I never believed any of this", I uttered "Is that why I am here?"

Silence.

I continued: "They say the greatest trick you ever pulled was convincing the world you don't exist"

"No, the greatest trick I ever pulled was convincing the world that there is an alternative"

"There is no God?" I shivered.

The cave trembled with the words: "I am God"

You hear your mom calling you into the kitchen. As you are heading down the stairs you hear a whisper from the closet saying "Don't go down there honey, I heard it too."

R.I.P. Frank Bonner (1942-2021)

Frank Bonner has died peacefully after having 'complications' with Lewy body dementia, which is similar to Alzheimer's disease.

Frank Bonner, who played Herb Tarlek on the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died. He was 79.

Bonner passed away “peacefully” Wednesday.

An Extremely Sad part of Canadian History

Can you imagine someone coming into your home grabbing your baby and never bringing them back home to you!!!

Kidnap you say? This is what happened to First Nations!!

The artist is Kent Monkman, Cree Nation.

The Good, the Bad and the Innocent: The Tragic Reality Behind Residential Schools, an Albert Etzerza Story.

So Speaketh The Milk Man!

 

True. True...

 

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the '3' steps:

S-T-R 

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S  - Ask them to SMILE

T  - Ask them to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) like "Chicken Soup"

R  - Ask them to RAISE BOTH ARMS

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

**New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who reads this post sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved. Or simply post it to facebook by clicking on the facebook icon.

I have done my part. Will you?

The Significance of the Rainbow Flag and More!

Many people out there don't even recognize it, but to the queer community, it represents a great importance. There is also Stonewall. The bear near the bottom of my blog is a called 'Stoney', after the Stonewall Inn Riots in New York. My best friend brought it back from San Francisco for me. (I took a picture of it).

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a dingy, Mafia-run "private club" on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village with a predominantly gay clientele. The event is still a hot topic of debate in gay circles, with much disagreement about what actually precipitated the violence and who took part in it.

One legend holds that Judy Garland's funeral, held June 27, 1969, in Manhattan, fanned the flames of gay rage. Other versions of the story claim that dozens of sequined drag queens and a mysterious, unidentified butch lesbian were at the forefront of the street rebellion. But a few facts seem certain.

The inverted Pink triangle is also a symbol for the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and trans-gendered). The inverted pink triangle (rosa Winkel) was a symbol used by the Nazis during the Holocaust to identify male homosexual prisoners.

It was often larger than the other identifying triangles so as to allow homosexuals to be avoided and singled out at a distance. Between 10,000 and 600,000 gay men and women died in the Holocaust. In the 1970s, gay liberation groups resurrected the pink triangle as a popular symbol for the gay rights movement.

Not only is the symbol easily recognized, but it draws attention to oppression and persecution -- then and now. Today, for many the pink triangle represents pride, solidarity, and a promise to never allow another Holocaust to happen again.

Click above to find the reasons behind the rainbow colours.
*Picture of the hunk holding the flag is a piece of art from Steve Walker

Happy Pride Saskatoon, SK Canada

 

Star Wars Stars from 44 Years ago

 

44 years ago - Memorial Day weekend, May 25, 1977, Star Wars was released #StarWars - Left to Right: Han Solo, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2

Every Disney female has the same face

 

Image from https://www.good.is/articles/disney-pixar-women-same-face

Saturn

 

Closest picture of Saturn, from inside its rings, by the Cassini Spacecraft a few weeks ago..

Apocalyptic Dystopia

Me: "I want an apocalyptic dystopia!"

Mom: "We have apocalyptic dystopia at home."

The apocalyptic dystopia at home:

Miniature Horses

Two miniature horses have become neighbourhood celebrities in the Ottawa municipality of Munster ON Canada, as community members wait for their walk each day to say hello and give them a pet.

Neighbourhood walks have become a popular activity to combat COVID-19 boredom, but Debra Carey-Knox has kicked them up a notch, and it’s become a hotly anticipated event in her Ontario community. 

R.I.P. Ned Beatty (1937-2021)

Ned Beatty

Ned Beatty, the indelible character actor whose first film role as a genial vacationer raped by a backwoodsman in 1972′s “Deliverance” launched him on a long, prolific and accomplished career, has died. He was 83.

TMZ, citing “a family member” and later his manager, reported that Mr. Beatty died in his sleep Sunday, surrounded by relatives at his home.

The celebrity news site said the death was due to natural causes and not related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Joe Biden's Stats

 

Isn't it great to be back to normal again?

Hide In Your Shell - Roger Hodgeson

 

Positive Thought For The Day

 

The Story of an Hour

 by Kate Chopin

Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husband's death.

     It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her. It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message.

     She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her.

     There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair. Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul.

     She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. In the street below a peddler was crying his wares. The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves.

     There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window.

     She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams.

     

     She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength. But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky. It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought.

     There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air.

     Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will - as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been.

     When she abandoned herself a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips. She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body.

     She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her. A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial.

     She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome.

     There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

     And yet she had loved him - sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!

     "Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering.

     Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission. "Louise, open the door! I beg, open the door - you will make yourself ill. What are you doing Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."

     "Go away. I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window.

     Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her. Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own. She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long.

     She arose at length and opened the door to her sister's importunities. There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory. She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs. Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom.

     Some one was opening the front door with a latchkey. It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella. He had been far from the scene of accident, and did not even know there had been one. He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife.

     But Richards was too late.

     When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - of joy that kills.

English!

 

Happy PRIDE Week Saskatoon!

Be There and Be Queer!

Benefits of books

 

I could see me doing this!

 

French Fries? Pun intended!

 

How to start a conversation with a cat in different countries

 

A New poll from The Wizard of 'OZ'

Do you support the LGBT?

Yes

No

Created with QuizMaker

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein

  To those involved in the making of the show, this site is dedicated. For the rest, lean back and let your mouse take you for a trip back to that mysterious place, overlooking the sleepy village of Frankenstone, somewhere far away from the Count’s beloved homeland of Transylvania; the place known as Castle Frightenstein… 

 This live action 60 minute show was a fixture on Saturday morning television for decades. Through its combination of variety, humor, and educational segments, all flavored with the spice of mock horror, the show had a lasting impact on the youth of the day. 

 Visit the world’s biggest website devoted to the brilliant Canadian TV show of the 70’s, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, starring Billy Van, Billy Van, Billy Van, etc., Fishka Rais as Igor, Joe Torbay as Gronk, Guy Big as Count Munchkinstein, and special guest star Vincent Price. 

Click below to visit the site. 

Hilarious House of Frightenstein

405

Still one of the best shorts ever made...

The Canadian Military

Click Above.

I AM ABORIGINAL

  

  http://www.drewhaydentaylor.com/

I have a dreamcatcher but it was given to me by a white person.

I do not own a canoe but I know somebody who does.

I have lived here forever but only been a citizen since 1960.

I have never rubbed noses as a sign of affection but I'd be more than willing to try.

I do not personally have a land claim but I have not ruled out that possibility.

I have enjoyed watching Graham Greene on television and reading the other Graham Greene's novels.

I have lived on the Reserve and in the city.

I watch APTN and CNN.

I am Ojibway, Cree, Iroquois, Haida, Inuit etc. but I am also Canadian.

I personally have never worn buckskin but I do support that indigenous right.

I am not from India but I do like their food.

I am better with a video game than a bow and arrow.

Contrary to popular belief, I do pay taxes and, like you, I find it annoying.

I was at Oka, if not in body then in spirit.

I have ridden a horse, if not in body then in spirit.

My great-great-grandmotherwas part white but that doesn't change anything.

I have never hunted buffalo but I've had their wings.

Contrary to popular belief I prefer my baloney raw, not fried.

I love going to a powwow as much as I love going to a hockey game.

I am glad that you had a Native friend once, but, I'm sorry, I do not know all of the approximately one million people of Aboriginal heritage in Canada.

Yes I have seen Dances With Wolves but it is not my favuorite movie.

I drive a Chevy pickup, a Ford Escort, a Kia Sportage, a Hyundai Tucson and a Kawasaki.

I listen to country music, rock, rap, blues and opera.

I have blonde, brown, black, red, and grey hair.

I have a University degree.

I own a house, and it is not a teepee.

-- by Drew Hayden Taylor,

FIRST KISS

So, it's your first kiss and several questions might come to mind: Is it the right time? Is anyone watching? Does your partner even want to? Is your breath fresh? And... Should you use some tongue? Then you lean in and just go for it!

Can You See it?

There is a hidden picture inside the picture below. It can be seen in 3D without 3D glasses! Take a hard look and see if you can find the 'hidden rings'...

*Magic Eye

Find Paul Stanley from KISS

I will include a photo of Paul Stanley to help you:

Now find him below! Easy peasy Oh so breezy!

Click on the image for the answer

Facts about COVID-19

These facts come from the World Health Organization. They correct common, untrue rumours about coronavirus (COVID-19).

Vaccines go through extensive trials before they can be introduced in a country. Expert doctors and scientists follow strict international standards while deciding to make a vaccine available to the public. Like all medicines, vaccines may cause side effects that are usually minor and temporary. More serious side effects are extremely rare. A person is far more likely to be seriously harmed by a disease than by its vaccine.

Source: World Health Organization

Vaccines are tested thoroughly for safety before they're made available to the public

The need for a COVID-19 vaccine was urgent, so governments and companies spent much more money on developing it. Research and development took place at the same time around the world, while still following strict safety and clinical standards. This allowed for faster vaccine development, but doesn't make the studies any less rigorous or the vaccine any less safe.

Source: World Health Organization

COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly while maintaining the highest safety standard possible

Vaccine side effects are usually mild.

Vaccines help protect the body from certain diseases. Like any medicine, they can cause minor, short-term side effects while the body adjusts to them, such as a sore arm or a mild fever. More serious side effects are possible, but extremely rare. A person is far more likely to be seriously harmed by a disease than by its vaccine.

Source: World Health Organization

Do your civic duty. Get vaccinated today.

PRIDE on The Prairies - Queer History in Saskatchewan

 

Click Above to visit The Diefenbaker Canada Centre Virtual Museum

R.I.P. Clarence Williams III (1939-2021)

Clarence Williams III has died at the age of 81. 

The American film and theater actor was known for his roles in "The Mod Squad" and "Half Baked". 

Clarence was born into a family of musical artists, his father was a professional musician, his aunt was a singer, his grandfather was a jazz and blues musician, and his grandmother was a blues singer and theater actress. It was through his grandmother Eva that he became interested in acting and began his career in the theater. In the 1960s, he appeared on Broadway in the play "The Long Dream," and several years of acting in the theater brought him critical acclaim. 

His recognition and great popularity brought him the role of Lincoln Hayes in the police series "The Mod Squad", in which he played for 5 seasons and appeared in 123 episodes. His filmography includes performances in such films and series as "Miami Vice", "Twin Peaks", "Star Trek", "The Highwayman", "Nasty Boys", among others. One of his standout roles was as Prince's father in "Purple Rain" and the comedy "Half Baked".

In 1967 Clarence married actress Gloria Foster, whom he met on the set of "The Cool World" in 1962. Unfortunately, this relationship did not last and the couple divorced in 1984.

Riddle Me This!

Family Matters..... 

There was a family living in an round house. There was a mother, a father, a daughter, a son, and a maid. When the son was murdered everyone were suspects. The father said that he did not kill the boy, he was fixing the car outside. The mother said that she did not kill the boy, she was washing the dishes and cleaning the bathroom. The daughter said that she did not kill the boy, she was in her room all day listening to music. The maid said she did not kill the boy, she was sweeping every corner of the house. Who killed the boy?

Click above for the answer.

Attitude Problem

 

The Best of The Love Doctor

  Dear Love Doctor,

My clothes smell like an ashtray. My hair stinks. My bedding reeks. And, I don't smoke!

How on earth do I get my boyfriend to quit? He's not only ruining his health, he's endangering mine.

He's a great guy, but the smoking is turning me off and driving me away. I really don't know how much longer I can take it. When he comes over he lights up as soon as he walks in the door, and doesn't stop until he leaves. The only break I get is when we have sex, and the tobacco odor leaves me limp.

I've been after him but he says I'm hounding him, but it's for his own good. He says he's tried quitting but can't Isn't there something that will work?

Signed,

2Packs 2ndHand

Dear 2ndHand,

I'm sure the smoke is driving you nuts. And, I'll take his word for it that he has tried to quit. The trouble is smoking is an addiction no different from alcoholism or gambling.

It needs to be treated like an addiction not some little character flaw, and certainly not with fads like dieting.

Having known a heavy smoker for a very long time, I can tell you firsthand how hard it is to quit no matter how genuine you are about wanting to.

I can also tell you there is no foolproof method. Most researchers will tell you the most effective way is to stop cold turkey. They have probably never been smokers themselves.

What worked for him may not work for anyone else, but he went to a shrink. It took a year to get to the root of the problem and another year to successfully get off the weed.

He hasn't had a cigarette in more than a decade.

There are a number of crutches to help ease the anxiety of quitting...gum...the patch etc. But, these are only crutches.

I wish I had a simple answer for you, but I don't. If I did, I'm sure I could package it and make as much money as the tobacco industry does in pushing coffin nails.

The Love Doctor

--Send your questions about love to "The Love Doctor" directly from 'OZ' - The 'Other' Side of the Rainbow! I have added an email link that goes direct to The Love Doctor - this will enable quicker responses from him. You can do this by clicking on his picture in the sidebar and put your question in the email. This will ensure that The Love Doctor gets your question. The Love Doctor forwards his replies to me for posting consideration. Note: Due to the high volume of letters that The Love Doctor receives, not all letters will be posted on 'OZ' - but the Love Doctor will reply to every email. (so he says)

 

*Note: The Wizard quit tobacco and cigarettes over a year ago in favour of vaping. That in itself has unknown effects, but I prefer that habit over nasty smokes any day! I bet Dr. Love would have something to say about this!

Dumbest Kid in the World !!

As a young boy enters the barber shop, the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you." The barber puts a dollar in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"

The boy takes the quarters and leaves. "What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!" A while later, after leaving the barber shop, the customer sees the same young boy leaving the ice cream store. "Hey, son," he asks, "Tell me, why did you pick the two quarters instead of the dollar?" The boy licks his cone and answers, "Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!"

I THINK YOU'RE THE FATHER OF ONE OF MY KIDS

A guy goes to the supermarket and notices a beautiful blonde woman wave at him and say hello. He's rather taken aback, because he can't place from where he knows her. So he says, "Do you know me?" 

To which she replies, "I think you're the father of one of my kids." Now his mind travels back to the only time he as ever been unfaithful to his wife and says, "My God, are you the stripper from my bachelor party that I laid on the pool table with all my buddies watching, while your partner whipped my butt with wet celery???" 

She looks into his eyes and calmly says, "No, I'm your son's math teacher."

Strange man!

Awhile ago, just for fun, I stopped by a house that was selling a 69 Volkswagen Beetle. I met with the gentleman who answered the door and after showing my friend and me the Bug, proceeded to hand each one of us the following:

He said, after giving us these bills, "Hold onto them... may be worth something someday..." WELL, won't he be surprised when we go and collect our 'credits' in 2022....