Thoughts on Tom Mulcair's "Hotline Bling" Dance...

This Hour Has 22 Minutes says that we'll get the full video tonight, but even 9 seconds of Tom Mulcair doing Drake's "Hotline Bling" is well... mindblowing? ...disturbing? ...like the first time someone dipped chocolate in peanut butter?

From @RosieBarton to @nationalpost, Canada's been asking where @ThomasMulcair's been. We found him. He found @Drake pic.twitter.com/MIzgdIrTAE

— 22Minutes (@22_Minutes) November 3, 2015

But when I first saw it, my train of thought completely derailed:

1. Wow - that's Tom Mulcair doing "Hotline Bling."
2. Does Tom Mulcair have any idea who Drake is?
   
   
3. Does Drake have any idea who Tom Mulcair is? 
   
4. Is Drake even allowed to vote?
5. If he is, for whom did Drake vote?
6. Am I the only one who rewrites sentences just to avoid misuse of the word "who"?
7. Have I really become that boring that I'm sitting here wondering about the voting habits of a rap star and poor grammar amongst the populace?
8. Did I just use the word "amongst"?
9. And "populace"?
10. Does anyone else EVER use the word "amongst" anymore?
11. Quick! Do something cool! 
12. Umm...
13. Crap. I'm really that boring.
14. Damn you, Tom Mulcair! This is ALL YOUR FAULT!!!

But here: it's Stephen Harper with Justin Bieber.

I don't feel so bad now.

I'm Baaaaa-aaaaack...

Yeah, kind of disappeared for a while there, didn't I? Nothing sinister, I've just been focusing on my "author" blog over at Cynthia Hill Books. But lately I've had a whole lot of opinions that I didn't necessarily want to get into over there, and it's been frustrating. Not to mention, as I've learned more about blogging, and sponsored posts and reviews, etc, I wanted to do more of that sort of thing, but again, unless it has something to do with books, or pop culture, I didn't feel comfortable with it over there.

So, here I am. I'm going to have to do some renovations, probably, and may even eventually move to a self-hosted site if I can manage to keep up with two blogs, and still do some of my fiction writing. But for now, there's a post that I've been dying to write for a while now, and I'm hoping to put it up in the next few days, so stay tuned!

Terror Suspect Auditioned for Canadian Idol

You've probably heard this story by now, but if not, you can read about it here. But even though it's all over the news, to the point where "Canadian Idol" is actually trending on Yahoo (and it hasn't been on the air in two years) I thought I'd post about it anyway. After all, if it's even remotely connected to Ben Mulroney, you'll find it here!

Yes, I know, the Ben thing is getting old... I just can't help myself... it's hypnotic...

Speaking of hypnotic, here's the video... you know you want to watch it...



I swear, I'm not making fun of terrorism. I'm just making fun of this guy. You know you want to see him doing the Robot while singing (I use that term loosely) Avril Lavigne.

I read that he's actually a doctor. Anyone else think he must've lost a bet and that's why he had to do that audition? Like, "Dude, I bet you I can do backflips all the way across this room!"

"No, you can't, Dude!"

"I can! I can totally do backflips across the room!"

"I bet you can't. If you can't do backflips all the way across the room, you have to go and audition for Canadian Idol and do the Robot on national television!"

I'm right. You know I am.

If I Had 50 Million Dollars...

Well, I guess my husband will have to wait a little longer for his TARDIS-inspired media room. On the upside, so will all of the other Dr. Who geeks out there. No one won the $50 million Lotto Max jackpot last night, although 30 people are $1 million richer today, from the MaxMillions prizes. Not me, though.

What is it about lotteries that draws us in? We know the odds. Most people are intelligent enough to realize that they're more likely to have a rhinoceros end up in their living room than to win a big lotto prize, and yet we still try. As I said to my husband last night, the odds are a zillion to one, but if you don't play, they're zero.

Still, I feel pretty foolish today for wasting money last night on tickets. Not a ton, but still... a waste. So why?

Truthfully, I think we pay for the dreams. Is there anyone who doesn't have long conversations about what they'd do with the money? First, starting with all of your philanthropic goals, to absolve any guilt for the big houses, vacations and new cars and vehicles that you plan for after that. These days, especially, it just gives you a sense of hope that things can get better. Most people I've talked to, even though they dream about what they could do with $50 million, say that they'd be happy to just win enough to pay off debts, go on a vacation, have a little luxury in their lives. For so many of us right now, compared to what we may have known before, luxury is a distant memory. Hopefully, a little dreaming is enough for now.

A Man and His Pickle...

I have to get this out somewhere or I'll burst!

I was in the grocery store this morning. My son and I walked around the corner of an aisle and there were two men, probably in their late 20s, with this ENORMOUS jar of pickles. They were holding it up and discussing how big it was, and joking about it being too heavy for the one guy to lift.

It took EVERYTHING in my being to keep my mouth shut. The number of pickle jokes that went running through my head was astonishing. Somehow I didn't know if random strange men would appreciate a 30-something mom making jokes about their pickles.

So since I (surprisingly) managed to hold it in there, I'm letting a few of them rip now. Feel free to add your own!

• You know what they say about men with big pickles...
• Is it really a good idea to display your pickles like that?
• I've never really liked my pickles that sour.
• At least you're not comparing pickles.
• A pickle in the hand is worth two in the jar.
• You men, all you ever think about is the size of your pickles.

All right, I've forgotten some since then, but still! It was REALLY hard! (Hey, just like the pickles!)

I Probably Shouldn't Find This So Funny...

I actually can't stop laughing, though. The Typo That Pulped 7,000 Books has me absolutely cracking up. I'm sure that there are those out there who will think I'm horrible for laughing so much over this, but honestly, if it was white pepper I'd be laughing just as hard.

7,000 cookbooks are being reprinted by Penguin Group Australia because a pasta recipe was printed that contained the line “salt and freshly ground black people.”

Come on - it's funny! I can understand why the publishers are so upset that it's getting publicity, though. I mean honestly, haven't we all had spell-check screw with us? Yes, the proofreader should have caught it, but the proofreader is human. I seriously doubt it was intentional.

So go ahead: laugh with me. You'll feel better.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - THE END!

I hope you've all enjoyed our little foray into the land of Benedict Mulroney. I know that some of my readers may be questioning my sanity right now, but hey, it's all in good fun!

Tomorrow, we resume our regularly scheduled programming of rants on politics and pop culture! For now, though, enjoy a few clips of Ben at work.

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 27!

Only THREE more days, Gentle Readers! Whatever will we do without a little Ben in our lives each day?

Today's Fun Fact: Ben was named one of Canada's Best Dressed by Hello! Canada magazine in 2009.

Hmm... I guess they haven't seen my usual daily attire...

The 30 Days of Ben Mulroney - Day 24!

Happy Easter Everyone - from the Easter Benny!