Andrew Flavin's Blog

New Blog!

andrewflavin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:05:11 +0000

My new blog is up and running! Go check it out!

I basically copy and pasted the more significant posts from this blog over to that one. The theme is a plain gray colour, and shall remain as such until I can find a theme I actually like =P most of them are either too simple or too extravagant for my tastes. I’m just waiting until I find a nice middle ground =)

Thank you to anyone and everyone who actually reads my blog! I know there has to be, I have over 1300 views, and I set an option that says my own views don’t count. Soooo people are reading my stuff, which is cool =)

I’ll be uploading a lot more of my writing onto my new blog. It seems like a much better medium for getting your blog noticed, as in people can follow your blog and see your new posts on their dashboard, which I think is great! And then they have the option of re-posting them to their blog, and in turn perhaps their friends will re-post, and so on. Who knows how far the ripples will go =)

Again, thank you for following my blog, and I’ll see you over on Tumblr! =D

Moving Blogs!

andrewflavin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:50:43 +0000

For anyone who actually follows my blog, (anyone? ANYONE?!… *sniff*) I’m going to be opening up a new blog on Tumblr. I really like their themes, layouts etc, and it seems to be a much better medium for people who want their blogs to be noticed. There’s an option to “follow” people on Tumblr, and you can receive updates on things they post to their blog (much like the way you can subscribe to people’s channels on YouTube). You can also re-post things to your own blog to pass it along to your friends, or people who follow you, and so on and so on. So you never know who might see your stuff =) I feel like this could potentially open up some opportunities for my writing. Perhaps a publisher will stumble across my writing and want to get in contact with me – anything can happen! =)

I’ll come back and post the link for my new Tumblr page once I get it up and running and looking cool, which should be sometime tomorrow or Friday at the latest. See you there!

ps. Big thanks to Trina for showing me Tumblr in the first place =)

Canada Sets A Winter Olympic Record

andrewflavin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:31:46 +0000

Canada won 14 gold medals in the recent Winter Olympics, setting a new world record for the most gold medals won in the Winter Olympics. I am so unbelievably proud of the men and women who represented our country so admirably, even those who did not win medals. You can always count on Canadian athletes to represent their country with the pride and respect they in turn receive from their fans. What goes around comes around =)

And to have accomplished this admirable feat in our home country, well, that’s the incredibly delicious icing on the cake =D. The video below shows all of our Canadian athletes who won the gold medal in their events singing our national anthem. Just like the other video, this brings tears of pride to my eyes every time I watch it =) so very proud. Ya dun good Canada, ya dun good =)

Canada Wins Gold

andrewflavin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:20:35 +0000

Every once in a while I come back to this video to watch it again and it still brings tears. This was by FAR the most emotional moment in my life in terms of sports. I cannot put into words how proud this makes me feel. And I feel even better knowing I share this feeling with millions of hockey fanatic Canadians =) I just can’t get enough of this. I would relive that day in a heart beat.

Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie

andrewflavin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:04:02 +0000

When yer head gets twisted and yer mind grows numb
When you think you’re too old, too young, too smart or too dumb
When yer laggin’ behind an’ losin’ yer pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life’s busy race
No matter what yer doing if you start givin’ up
If the wine don’t come to the top of yer cup
If the wind’s got you sideways with one hand holdin’ on
And the other starts slipping and the feeling is gone
And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
And the wood’s easy findin’ but yer lazy to fetch it
And yer sidewalk starts curlin’ and the street gets too long
And you start walkin’ backwards though you know its wrong
And lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow’s mornin’ seems so far away
And you feel the reins from yer pony are slippin’
And yer rope is a-slidin’ ’cause yer hands are a-drippin’
And yer sun-decked desert and evergreen valleys
Turn to broken down slums and trash-can alleys
And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe’s a-pourin’
And the lightnin’s a-flashing and the thunder’s a-crashin’
And the windows are rattlin’ and breakin’ and the roof tops a-shakin’
And yer whole world’s a-slammin’ and bangin’
And yer minutes of sun turn to hours of storm
And to yourself you sometimes say
“I never knew it was gonna be this way
Why didn’t they tell me the day I was born”
And you start gettin’ chills and yer jumping from sweat
And you’re lookin’ for somethin’ you ain’t quite found yet
And yer knee-deep in the dark water with yer hands in the air
And the whole world’s a-watchin’ with a window peek stare
And yer good gal leaves and she’s long gone a-flying
And yer heart feels sick like fish when they’re fryin’
And yer jackhammer falls from yer hand to yer feet
And you need it badly but it lays on the street
And yer bell’s bangin’ loudly but you can’t hear its beat
And you think yer ears might a been hurt
Or yer eyes’ve turned filthy from the sight-blindin’ dirt
And you figured you failed in yesterdays rush
When you were faked out an’ fooled white facing a four flush
And all the time you were holdin’ three queens
And it’s makin you mad, it’s makin’ you mean
Like in the middle of Life magazine
Bouncin’ around a pinball machine
And there’s something on yer mind you wanna be saying
That somebody someplace oughta be hearin’
But it’s trapped on yer tongue and sealed in yer head
And it bothers you badly when your layin’ in bed
And no matter how you try you just can’t say it
And yer scared to yer soul you just might forget it
And yer eyes get swimmy from the tears in yer head
And yer pillows of feathers turn to blankets of lead
And the lion’s mouth opens and yer staring at his teeth
And his jaws start closin with you underneath
And yer flat on your belly with yer hands tied behind
And you wish you’d never taken that last detour sign
And you say to yourself just what am I doin’
On this road I’m walkin’, on this trail I’m turnin’
On this curve I’m hanging
On this pathway I’m strolling, in the space I’m taking
In this air I’m inhaling
Am I mixed up too much, am I mixed up too hard
Why am I walking, where am I running
What am I saying, what am I knowing
On this guitar I’m playing, on this banjo I’m frailin’
On this mandolin I’m strummin’, in the song I’m singin’
In the tune I’m hummin’, in the words I’m writin’
In the words that I’m thinkin’
In this ocean of hours I’m all the time drinkin’
Who am I helping, what am I breaking
What am I giving, what am I taking
But you try with your whole soul best
Never to think these thoughts and never to let
Them kind of thoughts gain ground
Or make yer heart pound
But then again you know why they’re around
Just waiting for a chance to slip and drop down
“Cause sometimes you hear’em when the night times comes creeping
And you fear that they might catch you a-sleeping
And you jump from yer bed, from yer last chapter of dreamin’
And you can’t remember for the best of yer thinking
If that was you in the dream that was screaming
And you know that it’s something special you’re needin’
And you know that there’s no drug that’ll do for the healin’
And no liquor in the land to stop yer brain from bleeding
And you need something special
Yeah, you need something special all right
You need a fast flyin’ train on a tornado track
To shoot you someplace and shoot you back
You need a cyclone wind on a stream engine howler
That’s been banging and booming and blowing forever
That knows yer troubles a hundred times over
You need a Greyhound bus that don’t bar no race
That won’t laugh at yer looks
Your voice or your face
And by any number of bets in the book
Will be rollin’ long after the bubblegum craze
You need something to open up a new door
To show you something you seen before
But overlooked a hundred times or more
You need something to open your eyes
You need something to make it known
That it’s you and no one else that owns
That spot that yer standing, that space that you’re sitting
That the world ain’t got you beat
That it ain’t got you licked
It can’t get you crazy no matter how many
Times you might get kicked
You need something special all right
You need something special to give you hope
But hope’s just a word
That maybe you said or maybe you heard
On some windy corner ’round a wide-angled curve

But that’s what you need man, and you need it bad
And yer trouble is you know it too good
“Cause you look an’ you start getting the chills

“Cause you can’t find it on a dollar bill
And it ain’t on Macy’s window sill
And it ain’t on no rich kid’s road map
And it ain’t in no fat kid’s fraternity house
And it ain’t made in no Hollywood wheat germ
And it ain’t on that dimlit stage
With that half-wit comedian on it
Ranting and raving and taking yer money
And you thinks it’s funny
No you can’t find it in no night club or no yacht club
And it ain’t in the seats of a supper club
And sure as hell you’re bound to tell
That no matter how hard you rub
You just ain’t a-gonna find it on yer ticket stub
No, and it ain’t in the rumors people’re tellin’ you
And it ain’t in the pimple-lotion people are sellin’ you
And it ain’t in no cardboard-box house
Or down any movie star’s blouse
And you can’t find it on the golf course
And Uncle Remus can’t tell you and neither can Santa Claus
And it ain’t in the cream puff hair-do or cotton candy clothes
And it ain’t in the dime store dummies or bubblegum goons
And it ain’t in the marshmallow noises of the chocolate cake voices
That come knockin’ and tappin’ in Christmas wrappin’
Sayin’ ain’t I pretty and ain’t I cute and look at my skin
Look at my skin shine, look at my skin glow
Look at my skin laugh, look at my skin cry
When you can’t even sense if they got any insides
These people so pretty in their ribbons and bows
No you’ll not now or no other day
Find it on the doorsteps made out-a paper mache´
And inside it the people made of molasses
That every other day buy a new pair of sunglasses
And it ain’t in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies
Who’d turn yuh in for a tenth of a penny
Who breathe and burp and bend and crack
And before you can count from one to ten
Do it all over again but this time behind yer back
My friend
The ones that wheel and deal and whirl and twirl
And play games with each other in their sand-box world
And you can’t find it either in the no-talent fools
That run around gallant
And make all rules for the ones that got talent
And it ain’t in the ones that ain’t got any talent but think they do
And think they’re foolin’ you
The ones who jump on the wagon
Just for a while ’cause they know it’s in style
To get their kicks, get out of it quick
And make all kinds of money and chicks
And you yell to yourself and you throw down yer hat
Sayin’, “Christ do I gotta be like that
Ain’t there no one here that knows where I’m at
Ain’t there no one here that knows how I feel
Good God Almighty
THAT STUFF AIN’T REAL”

No but that ain’t yer game, it ain’t even yer race
You can’t hear yer name, you can’t see yer face
You gotta look some other place
And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin’
Where do you look for this lamp that’s a-burnin’
Where do you look for this oil well gushin’
Where do you look for this candle that’s glowin’
Where do you look for this hope that you know is there
And out there somewhere
And your feet can only walk down two kinds of roads
Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows
Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways
You can touch and twist
And turn two kinds of doorknobs
You can either go to the church of your choice
Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You’ll find God in the church of your choice
You’ll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital

And though it’s only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You’ll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown

- Bob Dylan

She

andrewflavin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:30:08 +0000

This is one of my favourite songs, by my favourite guitarist Andy McKee. It is as beautiful as any of his work. What I love most about his music is the beautiful emotion he pours into every song. Every song means something. Every note tugs at a different part of your soul as you allow the beauty to seep into you. I am so glad to have discovered this incredibly talented man, and I introduce him to as many people as I can.

Each song reminds me of different points in my life, or different people who mean a lot to me. This particular song is called “She”, and when I hear it, I cannot help but fill my mind with wonderful thoughts of a particular young woman in my life, who means more to me than I could ever truly capture in words. This song somehow does it for me. I hope she likes it. And I’m sure she knows who she is.

FIFA World Cup

andrewflavin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 03:40:53 +0000

Let me first say that I have never been more entertained by soccer. This is mainly because I had never previously given it a real chance to impress me. Growing up as a fan of hockey and American football, two very rough physical sports, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of players diving on the ground and exaggerating harmless physical play in order to get a free kick. I also didn’t observe enough soccer in order to understand the tactics and strategies employed by soccer players.

With that being said, during this World Cup I actually took the time and made the effort to fully understand the game of soccer, the way its played, the tactics involved, the strategies used, the primary purpose of each position, etc. And I have to say, I am thoroughly satisfied with the new discovery I have made. Soccer truly is an entertaining sport, and I am so happy I was able to watch and be a part of this world cup. Hockey is a national sport, and unless you’re from North America you probably don’t care about it. Mainly because Canada and the US dominate the world of hockey =) But that’s our thing, our culture. Its easy to enjoy your own culture and be ignorant to others, which I admit I am guilty of, at least in respect to sports. (Everyone knows how brown I am haha). But I have come to love the whole unifying feeling the world cup brings with it. Its thrilling to know that when watching a big match, I am witnessing an event that almost everyone in the entire world is witnessing at the same time! Unbelievable to think of, it almost makes me tear up just thinking of the sheer beauty of that. One event, bringing together the whole world. Amazing =) I can finally call myself a soccer fan! =D

With that being said. *AHEM*. I find myself VERY annoyed by certain Spanish fans following today’s match, Germany vs Spain.

First of all, I was very disappointed to see Germany lose. I was so sure they would make it to the final, considering how amazing they have been playing. And before accusing me of jumping the German bandwagon, know that I have liked Germany since they lost to Brazil in the 2002 final. That’s right, the year they LOST. If I were a wagon jumper, I’d be a fan of Brazil. =)

Anyway after the match, Trina and I encountered quite a few Spanish fans who, for some odd reason, felt the need for mindless, unintelligent trash talk. It was so bizarre! Its as if they’ve been waiting for years for their team to do well enough in the World Cup in order to brag about them! Perhaps they’re afraid the spotlight will soon move back to worthy champions like Germany, Brazil or Argentina, and they’ll be forgotten about all over again. Awwwww…. okay kids, have your fun.

The funniest and most ironic point is, they don’t even realize that their bragging and shit talking is actually demeaning their team. I’m a firm believer that any professional team, or a team of any sort, is only as good as their fans. (Hence the reason I could never live with myself if USA had beaten Canada in the Gold Medal game in Vancouver). Trina and I were told to take our jerseys off by some guy who was wearing a Spain jersey. Haha! So if Spain had lost, would he have taken off his jersey? And why would we choose to take off our jerseys when our team loses? What kind of fans would we be if we abandon ship every time our team fails to win? If every Leafs fan thought the same way this idiot does, the Leafs would have gone bankrupt a loooong time ago.

This attitude is similar to many soccer fans I have seen before. Of course, this sort of attitude can be applied to absolutely any sport. The only difference is, soccer is the most popular sport in the world. With so many people following soccer and supporting their favourite teams (or more commonly choosing to support the teams who are doing well), it is far more likely to come across dick heads who think and act in accordance with the guy I mentioned earlier. Even worse are the guys Trina ran into in Vari Hall! “uuuhhhhhhhhhh, we won, uuuhhhhhhhhhh, you lost, uuuhhhhhh, yeah who’s going to the final and who’s not, uuuhhhhhhhhhhh, uuuhhhhhhhhhh, uuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” True university students, eager to bestow upon us their immense amounts of intelligence. *rolls eyes*

Man, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I don’t even know if anybody read this entry up to this point haha. If so, message me on Facebook the word “poopsicle”, or your own imaginative variation of Hagu Desserts, and I’ll know you read it.

Conclusion: I love my newly found interest in soccer, but cocky fans ruin it for me. Especially when their team won by a score of 1-0, as usual. Let me see Spain do one better than Germany and beat England 5-1, or Argentina 5-0. Then perhaps I’d like them. But with 7 players from Barcelona, I expected them to be able to score a lot more than once per game. Nonetheless, congratulations to Spain for making it into their first ever semi final, and also their first ever final. Two admirable feats in one day! Damn son, slow down. Maybe next world cup they can make it to the semi finals again for an unprecedented second time! Well, unprecedented for Spain at least. (I hope you caught my sarcasm in those congratulations).

Thank you for listening to me vent =) after all, what are these blog things for?

I will always be here on the same path as you…

andrewflavin — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:54:18 +0000

… and whenever I see that I am five steps ahead, I will always turn around to hold your hand and make sure you’re right there with me.”

I have never felt so happy. *melts on the inside* =)

The Man No One Ever Knew

andrewflavin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 08:06:52 +0000

It is with dying fingers that I attempt to write this. It is with a broken heart that I hope someone will someday read it. You don’t know who I am. Not my name, my age, where I came from or where I’m going. I don’t even know that. The only difference is, I’d like to know, and you couldn’t care less. I doubt you’ve ever shown me any more than passive observation. You can lie to me, and pretend you care, but I can see right through your fake smile and heartless apology. Your actions speak louder than your words.

You go to the corner store and buy a bag of chips, a bottle of pop and a dozen lottery tickets. I watch you pocket the change, but you deny that you have it when I ask you. At the grocery store you spend two hundred bucks on food for you and your family. It will probably only last three weeks. At dinner you cook an entire ham, some mashed potatoes and vegetables. You don’t finish the food on your plate, and you don’t save it. You throw it in the garbage. Your kids don’t eat their vegetables, because they don’t like them. You don’t punish them for not eating all their dinner, and you don’t even save their scraps. You throw them out.

It’s ten o’clock. You’re watching tv, and you feel hungry. You go down to the fridge for some food. It isn’t the scraps that you didn’t eat, or the vegetables your kids didn’t eat. No, it’s a delicious sandwich. Shaved turkey cold cuts with honey mustard, lettuce and tomato on a white kaiser bun. You eat it slowly, so the tough bread doesn’t lodge itself in your throat. You go back to watching tv, passively eating and chuckling at commercials. Your eyelids become heavy, and your wife is asleep on your shoulder. You wake her, and you both head to your comfortable, warm bed for another night in your comfy bubble.

***

I replace the lid of the garbage can. Another unsuccessful attempt to find food. The blistering cold wind rips through my jacket, inflaming my skin and numbing my bones. I pull my hood over my head of shaggy, dirty, matted hair. I put my hands under my armpits and half-heartedly attempt to warm them. It is no use. The warmth has been stolen from my very blood.

I wander through the cold, dark, desolate streets. I glance up at the dimly lit rooms of the homes nearby, and struggle to imagine how their warmth must feel. I reach the front step of a building that I know must be my home for the night. My frozen legs will not allow for any deliberation. I find a cardboard box and drag it to the corner. I lean it against two garbage cans to form a wall and curl up behind it, blocking as much wind as I can. The garbage smells horrible, but I’m used to it. I cannot muster enough energy to look for food. Besides, any food is likely frozen solid anyway.

My makeshift shelter is barely sufficient, but it somehow serves its purpose. I close my heavy eyelids, but sleep will not come until I drown out the taunts and torments of mother nature. The deathly cold wind crashes into the walls around me like waves into the shore. My cardboard refuge smacks against the garbage cans, over and over again. Mother nature is relentless, I cannot escape her power, her evil, her torture. I get close to sleep, and a strong wind whips through the city streets and sends another surge of sharp cold into my body, stabbing like daggers at my open wounds. She is relentless, I cannot escape. She will find me wherever I go. Against her there can be no victory. I must succumb to her will. All I want is for her to stop, to give me a chance. But I have yet to see her comply with my simple request.

So I slowly waste away. I move from spot to spot, only because it helps ease the slow decay of time. I live from day to day, wondering which one will be my last. And all the while I feel each grueling second go by, inching death ever closer toward my soul. A moment I now feel myself looking forward to. I’ve endured all of life’s tortures. I’ve suffered all its imbalances, witnessed all its imperfections. I understand what life is really all about. And yet, I can’t tell anybody. Nobody will listen. My desperate pleas on street corners are not met with concern, or even interest. They are ignored, avoided, insignificant. A curious ear is less likely to be lent than spare change.

To you I’m a drunk, a mad fool, a freak. Why is that? Because I’m not trapped in a shiny bubble as you are? I am not blinded by the material happiness of this world. I fight for my survival every day, while you rush past me and barely notice. You’re on your way to a meeting at work, or to lunch, or to pick your kids up from school. Rushing, rushing, rushing. Everyone is always trying to get somewhere, trying to do something, and it feels like I’m the only one who notices how stupid you all look. You’re all puppets, doing what you are forced to do, not what you want to do. Society molds you into who you are, and you’re oblivious to it. You are so consumed by your own lives, you don’t even notice the strings above each others heads. Or maybe you do and you think they’re normal.

I appreciate what you have more than you do. What I wouldn’t give to feel those strings control me. I wish I could swap my conscious mind for money and my guilt for luxury. But instead I am stuck waiting for my inevitable demise. I have never believed in God, but I find myself hoping he exists. I have a fight to pick with him. I do no understand how one man could create such cruel lives for so many people and still expect us to bow down and worship him. Being a good little Christian is easy when you have a home to drive back to, food to eat and a job to return to the next day. I wish it was that easy for the rest of us. I wish I could see a justification for our suffering. But all I see are puppets, floating about in their bubbles, nameless and shameless. I can only hope this letter finds a pair of caring hands and gentle eyes.

Signed,

The Man No One Ever Knew

Hitler’s Reaction to Germany vs England

andrewflavin — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:04:41 +0000

This is hilarious! I found out that this scene was taken from a German film called “The Fall” and they changed the subtitles hahaha, you could never tell the difference! Unless you speak German of course =P