My Friend's Angry Rant.

Point one: My assumptions.At the start of this rant, I am going to make a couple of assumptions that are carried through the rest of it. First, I am going to assume that the yearbook committee did everything in the book with very little input from Mr. Rork. Secondly, I am going to assume that if any facts need correcting that Magnus will care enough to read this and correct them on behalf of the committee, as I believe that adding people as friends just to critique their work would be rather unfriendly on my part.

Point two: the business perspectiveFrom a business standpoint, there was a major flaw in the conception of the theme of this year’s yearbook. The target audience for this dark, yet refreshingly original, piece of work probably makes up less than ten percent of the grade twelve class. Producing a product is all about giving the people what they want, but most people wanted candy and were given some sort of tofu bar. From this point of view, the recall makes sense. Coca-Cola had to recall their ‘revolutionary’ new flavour of coke back in the day because people simply didn’t like it. Instead, they re-released their old recipe as Coca-Cola Classic. I think that there were a good number of people in the school who found some of the content of the yearbook ‘distasteful’, so giving them the option of a ‘classic’ version only makes sense.

Point three: the choice perspectiveI believe that making the recall of the yearbook mandatory was a terrible decision. We high school students are supposed to be young adults, so why are we being forced to change our yearbooks. Some people may be perfectly happy with flaming heads being metaphors for their brains hurting during exams. There is no need for them to get a new yearbook. If the petition does not work out I will be sorely disappointed in the staff at BRHS for replacing an interesting, original, controversial yearbook with the regular cookie cutter variety we all know already. Can’t we just have both?

Point four: Subject materialI do not have that much to say concerning the subject material in this book. Although some people found a lot of the images to be disturbing, I recognize the fact that art is subjective and not everyone will ‘get it’. What annoys me are the political overtones. If certain people want to make political statements, they should speak up in social class instead of making people pay thirty five dollars for their radical, but totally unwanted, ideas. The yearbook is supposed to be about the students in our school, not the state of our ‘EVIL’ capitalist economy. Also, I was put of by one piece of artwork. I am referring to the two men with their snake-tongues entwined with a heart above their heads. Homosexuality is wrong. Period. In my mind this is not even open to debate and should not be put in the yearbook. If I get the black market copy of this version that I want, that picture will be coloured over or ripped out.

Point five: who takes the fall?I am somewhat worried for the creators of the yearbook. Having worked so hard for so long on it, the recall must be like a slap in the face. You guys truly have my deepest sympathy. My first thought is, couldn’t this all have been prevented? The yearbook could have been seen by a certain teacher at the start and been pointed in a more positive direction. This is where I fear Mr. Rork will be in trouble. I believe that he will ultimately be the one to take the fall, if one is to be taken here. He seemed like a rather soft person to me, so I doubt that he would have wanted to tell the yearbook committee that their ‘art direction’ was in the wrong direction. The school paid good money to get those yearbooks published based on his assurance that everything was alright. I can only hope that the yearbook committee will be able to shield him from the general public’s wrath.

Point six: In closingIn closing, I would like to say that there will definitely be changes in next year’s yearbook creation. I’m sure the committee will kept be on a tight leash by some of the more traditional-minded teachers. Perhaps some happy-go-lucky students will rush to be the ones to be in charge to avoid ‘The Great Tragedy of 2008” I would also like to say that my rant has probably been quite biased and I certainly do not know all the facts behind the story. I don’t even own a copy of the yearbook, although I would buy one if it became available again. I would like to thank the yearbook team for their hard work in organizing a whole year into one tiny book. I apologize for any and all inconsistencies in my logic, ethics, or viewpoints. A sincere thank you goes to anyone who actually took the time to read all of this.

Point seven: PS I’ve had a day to think about this now, and I just want to say that I hope nobody is overly offended by any of this. Also, I want to say that the petition paper people are doing a great job and I hope that works out.

High school what would we do with out it.

Governator

Caught a Skumbag!

Hank Van-Til, 67, was driving from Grand Falls to his home in Little River, west of Hillsborough, on Monday when he saw a pickup truck hit a doe, sending the animal into a ditch.

After pulling to the side of the road, Van-Til saw the deer was pregnant.

Van-Til fetched a knife and performed a Caesarean operation on the doe, something he'd learned how to do while working with cows.

He then delivered the baby, took the fawn back to his truck, laid paper towels down and sat the animal in the cab.

Realizing the deer would need food, he took an empty cup and milked the dying mother, then fed the baby animal using his fingers.

Yesterday, the Department of Natural Resources seized the baby deer – which the man has named "Dickie" – and launched an investigation into the matter.

Under New Brunswick law, it is illegal to take an orphaned animal home and care for it without a permit.

Wow, good thing our government is protecting us from monsters like that. I mean they do stop groups like this, but that is nothing compared to stopping someone who would save a deer.

Governator

Cloths on the Line

This is a story from April but I just discovered it just today and was blown away by the law Ontario had decided to finally get rid of. I have heard of some ridicules laws but not letting people hang their clothes up has to be in the top 10. Maybe my joke about us not being able to eat chili unless its on a Sunday and there is a blue moon could come true. I certainly hope not (I really like chili). I thought the cell phone in the car was an example of the government overstepping its boundaries but this was just nuts. Well that’s all for now.

Governator

Communists they’re Every Where!

Riding home on the bus today (argh) I happened to hear the conversation behind me. The kid was talking about how they supported communism and its ends (really ARGH). Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident in my classmates. For example in my social class a kid behind me (why are they always behind me?) also says he supports communism and its ends. The teachers are just as bad, not exactly communists but definitely socialists which is not much better. Even after all the evils of the Soviet Union have come out some people still want to support other countries like it. If the next generation grows up believing Stalin’s way of governing is the best, and that the evils of capitalism are uncountable, what will come of the world? Our freedoms will be given up for a system of government that is nothing more than a theory based on wishful thinking.

Governator

It's Time To Switch To Whiskey

Well I recently went with a friend of mine to see Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Albertans in concert. In a few words, the concert was absolutly amazing. When they first came on they started with a trumpet and the drummer coming out. He then played the snare drum until everyone else was up and they proceded to play "I Want to be in the Cavalry". It was very cool.

The Double Standard

Sorry I would write more but my knuckles are sore from dragging.

Governator

No More Talking

The provincial governments of Quebec and Nova Scotia are following Newfoundland and Labrador's "groundbreaking" lead in banning cellphone use while driving. Another step toward the bleak cliff of tyranny. I love it when our governments tell us what we can and can't do. This instance seems trivial compared with what they could try to do. But I believe that we should not allow them to have any gains in oppressing our freedoms. If we let them get away with this what stops them from saying we can't eat chili unless its on a Sunday and there is a blue moon or installing a one child policy. Maybe the jump from cell phone bans to one child polices seems like a gigantic leap. I fear that if the temptation is there, they will deluded themselves into believing it is for the betterment of the people so it should be done. If we are unwilling to make a stand now to protect our freedoms when will we?

Governator