First Pics of the Wedding

Courtesy of Paul, the Best Man.

Backstage: T-minus two minutes


Awaiting the Bride

Stunned After the Ceremony

Groom and His Boys

With Best Man's Family

(What was I doing with my mouth?)

More to come, folks!

Wedding Day

Nesrine, I love you.


Then Almitra spoke again and said...
"And what of Marriage, master?"
And he answered saying:

You were born together,
and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together
when the white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together
even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love.
Let it rather be a moving sea
between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous,
but let each of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone
though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together.
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress
grow not in each other's shadow.

Khalil Gibran
From the Book: The Prophet

Three days to go

My already sporadic blogging is getting less and less frequent as the big day approaches... Expect more of the same until the big day. Once we have photos, I'll try to put some up for those of you who couldn't make it.

Two Weeks to go...

The wedding is fast approaching, and planning continues apace. We have not reached the "frantic" stage, but we are getting there in leaps and bounds. There are so many details that must be attended to. The cake, the photographer, the hall, the seating arrangements, and so on. Mom will be coming down next Sunday to help us with the last sprint to the finish line, and thank the Lord, because Nesrine and I have noticed we are flagging. It is not that we aren't receiving plenty of offers of assistance from family and friends, far from it. I would say it has to do with our respective personalities: we are both quite independent, and hopelessly particular about certain things. For me, it's the photos. We went all out and splurged on this studio because, I reasoned, if the photos of the day aren't up to snuff, years from now, we'll regret that our abiding memories of the day are not really captured on film. I'm big on nice photography, particularly the photojournalistic style that Photolux uses. I have seen too many banal pictures featuring contrived poses and questionable composition to put my faith in some well-meaning dilletante.

For her part, Nesrine is rightfully focusing on her dress, the decorations, and of course, family. The Harbs are legion in these parts, so the guest list is rapidly approaching the 130 mark, a scant three dozen of which will be guests from my side. Make no mistake, this will be a Lebanese-Canadian wedding, and I couldn't be happier... have you tasted Lebanese cuisine before?

Although I have not been exploring the uplands of the internet much lately, I have happened across a few tasty morsels for your enjoyment:

I wonder if Bruno, will make a Cameo in the upcoming Borat movie.... God, I hope so.

The Internet is a Series of Tubes and Senator Ted Stevens is douche

I'm gonna go ahead and refer you this soundboard, MMMM-KAY?

The Simpsons:

God to Homer: Don't talk to me about family suffering. I sent my son to Earth once. I don't know what you people did to him, but he has never been the same again.

Camera pans to show Jesus:

Guess who is destined to be spit out of the bottom of the entertainment industry a few short years from now?

You gotta see it coming, no? So, instead of making excuses, the least a mother can do is give her child some discipline.. or at least keep her kid on a tighter leash while she is riding high and milk every moment of stardom for what it is worth.. cuz it won't last... at least not if history teaches us anything.

Ask these folks

Wa Wa Wee Wah!

Get ready for Borat hand pleasure sexy time explosion!

Movie of title Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 2006 in Autumn!


Trailer Watch!

The Levant in Flames

If Belgium was historically the Cockpit of Europe, then Lebanon must be the cockpit of the Middle East.

While some bitch and moan about how the Canadian Government has not done enough to extricate them from a country that they chose to travel to of their own accord, other resourceful folks are doing whatever it takes to hightail it out of the Lebanon: Greasing palms in Syria

A prayer, not just for peace, but for resolution, and lasting peace.

Bush and Blair: Caught on Tape!



They didn't know they were being recorded at the G-8... so this is how it is!


Bush: What about Kofi Annan? I don't like the sequence of it. His attitude is basically cease-fire and everything else happens.
Blair: I think the thing that is really difficult is you cant stop this unless you get this international presence agreed.
Bush: She's going. I think Condi's going to go pretty soon.
Blair: Well that's all that matters. If you see, it will take some time to get out of there. But at least it gives people ...
Bush: It's a process I agree. I told her your offer too.
Blair: Well it's only or if she's gonna or if she needs the ground prepared as it were. See, if she goes out she's got to succeed as it were, where as I can just go out and talk.
Bush: See the irony is what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over.
Blair: Cause I think this is all part of the same thing. What does he think? He thinks if Lebanon turns out fine, if he gets a solution in Israel and Palestine, Iraq goes in the right way, he's done it. That's what this whole things about. It's the same with Iran.
Bush: I feel like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen. We're not blaming Israel and we're not blaming the Lebanese government.
Blair: How you enjoying your lunch?
Bush: It's fine. Now, let's go destroy Lebanon to give Israel the land!
Blair: Great idea! I feel like doing something evil today.
Bush: Cuz you're my poodle, Blair
Blair: Yes
Bush: I mean, I own your British Ass
Blair: Right!
Bush: eheheeehhehehehe (Chimpy McHitlerburton does his shaky-shoulder monkey-laugh)

August 20 may be Wedding Day...

but August 18 is Snakes On A Plane Day

I read this comment on a movie geek message board:

..."the movie that Jesus himself would come back for. God, I can't wait until
Aug 18th"

That just says it all, doesn't it?

Grief, Part II


Christie Blatchford gets to the crux of the matter in today's despatch from Afghanistan:

The truth is that civilian Canada, increasingly disengaged from its military over decades of base closing, budget cuts and feel-good peacekeeping missions, was not prepared for either this place or this task.

It has been a very long time indeed since the CF have been involved at a battalion level in such ferocious combat, and the last time it happened, it was not in an instant-messaging, blogging world with TV cameras on the front lines capturing the heat and brutality and terrible power of war.

Grief Can Be An Ugly Thing

I feel sick. I feel sick with sorrow over the death of a young soldier, a promising life cut short; but I am also feeling a bit sickened by what I have seen in the media today.

The repulsive media vultures have descended upon the distraught family and friends of the young Corporal and created an almost pornographic spectacle of their pain. In interview after interview, these well-meaning but clearly grief-stricken people have laid bare the young man's most intimate thoughts and feelings on what he may or may not have felt about what he was doing in Afghanistan. Surely, the private doubts and gripes in the phonecalls and letters home were meant for their consumption alone, and not designed to be unfolded before the eyes of a nation.

We are told that Corporal Boneca hated going out on combat patrol. He was haggard, lean, burnt out and worn out. He was also disillusioned with the mission, aparently. What infantry soldier currently deployed in Afghanistan relishes the prospect of life-threatening danger? What infanteer would not be exhausted from days of combat? Who among the over two thousand CF members there has not unburdened themselves to friends and family, trusting that these private thoughts and fears would be kept in some secret, sacred place? Who among them has not even felt some frustration over what must be a long and tortured process of fighting medieval zealots and bringing stability to a basket-case of a country. This is NEWS?

I turn with dismay to the Globe and Mail and see that a comment thread is hijacked by vicious assholes wielding conspiracy theories, revisionist history, and fifth-rate intellects
It is left to Sheldon Maerz --a PPCLI Captain currently stationed in Kandahar with whom I had the honour to serve while he was posted to the LLSR -- to set the record straight:

Sheldon Maerz from Kandahar City, Canada writes: To post number 39 - Bill, you were bang on until you attacked the memory of Lestor B Pearson, himself a veteran of the Great War, and someone who worked tirelessly in the years following for the betterment of Canada. But, given you are one of the view voices of logic on here, I can forgive your attack on a Great Canadian for the most part (as if it is my place to forgive you, but I trust you will know what I mean).To all you who know next to nothing of our past, Bill is completely correct - we are a nation forged in the fires of war, and when called up by world events, Canadians have fought valiantly on the fields of battle like no others. Perhaps if more Canadians knew something of their own history, there would be fewer spewing the dual false sentiments that we are only a 'peacekeeping nation' and that we are currently fighting someone else's war. Canada has every reason to be here, it is in our own self interest as a nation to assist the Afghan people secure a more stable, more peaceful future. No one here believes Afghanistan will ever resemble Canada or any other western Democracy but we must do our part to attempt to ensure it never again becomes a incubator of hatred of things Western. The biggest falsehood being perpetuated by those against our role here is that the Afghan people don't want us here. The truth is the vast majority of them see us as their best chance in the last thirty years for something other than repression, insecurity and death. Finally, please stop all the parallels to the Soviet Occupation - we are not an Occupation Force and we are not seen as such by anyone except the forces of the Taliban, the foreign fighters, and those who are against our presence for their own self interest (narco warlords,etc). Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but pls stop the shallow name calling and before sounding off, try becoming informed.
Capt Sheldon Maerz

Try not to take it personal, Sheldon.

In our grief, let us consider the facts, and honour this brave young man as he deserves. Tony was an infantryman. He harboured no illusions of his role, notwithstanding what some may now be claiming. From minute-one that you enter the Infantry school, you are taught that your role is to close with and destroy the enemy. Period. Full stop. Yes, he was a reservist --a reservist who had undergone rigourous "work-up training" in the months preceeding his deployment. He had been screened psychologically and physically, he had been counseled, he had been warned and admonished. He was no stranger to Afghanistan, having served there on a previous tour. He went in with both eyes open. To say otherwise is to hold that he was incabable of understanding what he was getting into, to in effect infantilize the man (not boy, but man --He was twenty-one).

In their zealous quest for an "angle", some journalists are pissing all over this young guy's memory. They would paint a false picture of a frightened and disillusioned reservist, unable to cope: What a story, chief! Government sending untrained child-conscripts to a warzone and keeping them there against their will!

For my part, all things being equal and taking Sheldon at his word (who is there ON THE GROUND, mind you) I'm inclined to believe the words of the young man's father:

OTTAWA (CP) - The father of the soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this week denies his son was ill-prepared for his dangerous tour-of-duty, contradicting claims from some of the soldier's friends. Cpl. Anthony Boneca's father Antonio said his son "loved being in the army" and was aware of the situation he was facing. "In all my conversations with my son, there was never any mention of him not being well enough or fit enough to carry out his military duties," Boneca's father said.
"He said it was difficult to cope with the weather, the sand, and the situation the young children endured (but) he was proud to make a difference in their lives and said he wished these children could live like we do in Canada." Boneca's father disputed reports that suggested his son felt he was poorly prepared for his second stint in Afghanistan.


Shame on the media for this spectacle. Keep them the fuck away from the repatriation. They would dishonour its solemnity it by their presence.

****

I exclude from my scorn one journalist in particular. Christie Blatchford. She really is something else. Like Sheldon Maerz, she is currently on the ground in Afghanistan, "embedded", as they say, and reportign for the G&M. Check out her reporting on their Web site --it is worth a read. She did a little Q&A today from Kandaharand I loved the way she puts this pompous prick in his place:

Liam Dynes, Toronto/Thunder Bay, Ont.: To embed or not to embed reporters in a war zone is no longer the issue - as some previous commenters have put forth. It is a given at this point. My observation comes from what is done by a reporter put in that position. I ask you whether you truly see more value in your method of[reporting on what you see as an embed] than in a clear reporting of the facts at hand. We see cursory mentions of these soldiers in deteriorating physical condition and of questionable morale, but we see no examination of actual situation versus government spin - Minister O'Connor yesterday, for example. You mention in your first [answer today to Mr. Sheppard's question]that "most" of the men are in good spirits. What about the rest? Are those in good spirits regular army? Is there any correlation between morale and reserve status? We hear nothing about Cpl. Boneca's apparent disillusionment with his situation from those who would be there to hear it and see it firsthand, get no reporting of the conditions that led to it (an injured ankle that took more than a week to be treated, patrols extending themselves more than two weeks beyond their scheduled length and capacity for food and water). But we get plenty of literary examination of the pathetic fallacy of the Afghan countryside and its leporidaeic inhabitants (bunnies). Suffice to say, I'm a little perplexed. What is the reality over there?

Christie Blatchford: Thank you for explaining leporidaeic for me. Clearly you're very smart.

Look, I don't pretend to know the morale or state of mind of all our soldiers here, but I've met and spent time and watched in close quarters now hundreds of them, and interviewed dozens at length. You've heard nothing about Cpl. Boneca's apparent disillusionment from me, or anyone else here, because, in my case, I was in the middle of a firefight, and because the story came from The Toronto Star, which does not have a reporter here, but who interviewed the father of the young man's girlfriend.

And what government spin? I spend as little time as I can here at the safe big base, where the spin originates, when it does. Even here, I talk to actual soldiers, not the brass. I'm not writing spin, unless you consider spin to include what I see with my own eyes, from ordinary soldiers.

Thanks, Christie.

Inter Pericula Intrepidi


Today, I learned that the seventeeth Canadian soldier killed in Afghanistan is a reservist from the LSSR

I never knew Corporal Boneca-- he joined after I left the unit-- but his family and the Lake Sups are in my thoughts and prayers.

In the piece on the CBC Web site, General Fraser is quoted:"I think the one thing we've got to understand is that he was doing outstanding work out there," Fraser said. "We really do have to admire his professionalism and his heroic efforts to help out people who are less fortunate."

OUTSTANDING was a term I remember hearing alot during the "lean years" when I was a Lake Sup (1993-1999). It's a common exclamation among soldiers. After a 2-day recce patrol, for instance, when the weather had alternated between driving rain and driving snow , and you hadn't caught a wink of sleep laid up in the patrol hide, the usual response the the OC's question "How did the patrol go, gents?" was a chipper "OUTSTANDING, sir!".

You see, Canadian soldiers take great pride in remaining cheerful in adversity. Maybe it is the strain of sang-froid and cool wit inherited through our brit heritage leavened with a bit of Canadian humility, but in the CF, it is always considered important to keep things light-hearted, even when the situation is grim.

Things seem grim in Afghanistan now, but we cannot forget that hundreds of young Canadians have willingly and in some cases eagerly signed up for this duty, knowing full well that this would not be a "peacekeeping" tour, and that some of them would not be coming home alive. Words cannot express the admiration I have for young guys like Corporal Boneca, a "weekend warrior" who was never "required" to go to Afghanistan and willingly put himself in danger for others --reservists volunteer for call-ups, they are not obligated to deploy overseas, as regular force soliders are. He went nonetheless, and he was doing outstanding work, doubtless because because he himself was an outstanding young man.

The motto of the LSSR is Inter Pericula Intrepidi -- Fearless in the midst of Danger. Corporal Boneca's sacrifice is the most profound demonstration of that ideal. God bless him.

Post-Mortem

Becks is done, and Rooney says there is no hard feelings. And about Ronaldo getting all up in his grill? He's willing to bury the hatchet.

Bury the hatchet... in his head

Reason 15,734 that some Grits make me puke:

Ethnic insta-Libs become pawns in sleazy leadership machinations.

From the G&M:
Mr. Karygiannis -- called Jimmy K in political circles -- has just given the go-ahead to all-out organizing in two ridings held by Liberal MPs -- although he won't say which ones.
There are ridings in which Mr. Volpe's campaign won't go all out, Mr. Karygiannis says. Sometimes it's a courtesy if the MP is another leadership candidate or someone who might back the campaign later. Sometimes the effort is just not worth it. There are ridings that have big numbers and signing up a few new ones won't help win new delegates. At a Tim Hortons in south Ottawa, he plays guess-the-nationality as a man walks through the parking lot. He shouts a greeting in Tamil, and discovers the man is from Guyana. Mr. Karygiannis tells him that he visited Guyana after floods there last year, when Canada provided aid, and the man, who identified himself only as Mr. Ali, starts to chat.
"Let me ask you something. Do you think it's time that Canada had an ethnic prime minister?" Mr. Karygiannis asks. Joe Volpe is ethnic, somebody who immigrated to Canada just like us, he tells him. He asks if Mr. Ali wants to join the Liberal Party, and Mr. Ali gives him a telephone number so that an organizer can call. "And I have a lot of family," Mr. Ali says. Later, Mr. Karygiannis remarks on his "killer closing line" -- "Is Canada ready for an ethnic prime minister?" -- and explains how it's done. "It takes 30 seconds to zero in on an individual and figure out if you can sign them up, if you've got something in common with them."
For him, it's where people come from. An MP since 1988, Mr. Karygiannis has assiduously courted ethnic communities, and has visited dozens of countries such as Somalia and Sri Lanka, often after natural disasters -- so often that his critics call him an international ambulance chaser. But he insists he is pressing the views of the communities he represents, helping push on immigration or trade matters. He helps them, and later, on campaigns like this, many help him, he says, even if he has to plead. "Put smoke signals out. Put lots of them out," he tells someone on the phone a few minutes later. "And you might want to tell them if they don't come out, my ass is grass."

Jimmy K, your ass is already grass.

Canada Day Weekend

I can't help but feel that I missed out on Canada Day this year. Somehow, I just wasn't feeling it. Perhaps I have been overdoing it with the running --50 K this week-- and that's why I was been unable to muster any enthusiasm for the holiday weekend.

But I don't think that's the real reason... in my heart of hearts, I believe my glum disposition was brought on by a dire premonition that things were not going to go as planned on Saturday. Sure enough, we all looked on in disbelief as first, Beckham made an early exit, and then Rooney was ushered off the field in ignominy on a questionable red card. After extra time, Lampard's missed penalty kick sealed the English side's fate, and brought an end to the quest to repeat as World Champions forty years later.

Sure it was Canada's birthday... but alot of people were holding a wake on the evening of July 1st.

Ain't you supposed to be separated by now?

Something I alluded to a few months ago. Quebec's "separatiste" movement is a sham. Dig the prophylactic metaphor Steyn uses at the end. And managing to work in Rue Ste Catherine.. brilliant

TRAVESTY

Ratner Surpases Singer BO; Fanboys weep, gnash teeth

Ecce Oilers

Classical photo composition. I'm not trying to be blasphemous... but Smitty was looking a little Christ-like as Whitney embraced him, no? You be the judge:



Murillo


Corregio


Ribera




"The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done"

Jim Matheson, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Article tools
Printer friendly

RALEIGH - Former Oilers stickboy Ray Whitney gave Ryan Smyth a hug in the handshake line and wasn't sure what to say.

"Normally when you shake hands after a series is over, you really don't care that much that you just beat them," said Whitney.

"But I looked into Ryan's eyes and I knew what it meant to him after all the years in Edmonton. I said on the broadcast after the game that if we weren't going to win the Cup this year ... being an Edmontonian, I wanted the Oilers to win, for sure. I tried to downplay it as much as I could, but the Oilers have been a part of my life as long as I can remember."

They Died With Their Skates On

Colby Cosh, the sometime NP columnist and native Edmontonian has been blogging up a storm throughout the Oilers' improbably playoff run. Now that it's all over, it's worth revisiting some of his pieces, and reflecting on what might have been.

The Oilers, who played like lions --Christ, they didn't even know they were beaten last night with one minute left to play, they were still hustling-- became, for a brief moment in this country's hockey history, Canada's team. Lord knows I was rootin' for 'em.

Spider-man 3 trailer?

Nope. But a damn impressive fake nonetheless.

And incidentally, does anyone remember THIS? Possibly the coolest teaser trailer that hardly anyone saw. I don't blame the studio for pulling it, but I marvel (no pun intended) and the grotesque coincidence that a major motion picture would use such an iconic image, only to have real life events re-write the script.

Guard against fakes! Equip yourself with A baloney detector kit