Luck Is Yesterday

I was not a big fan of Josh Hartnett until I saw Lucky Number Slevin. Great acting, great movie.

But that's not the point for today. It's Christmas after all.

The point is in a quote by one of the characters in the movie - The Rabbi:

The unlucky are nothing more than a frame of reference for the lucky. You are unlucky, so I may know that I am not. Unfortunately the lucky never realizes they are lucky until it's too late. Take yourself for instance; yesterday you were better off than you are off today but it took today for you to realize it. But today has arrived and it's too late. You see? People are never happy with what they have. They want what they had, or what someone else has.

Besides the fact that I'm happy to deliver a Christmas message though a Rabbi, I just wanted to remind you of how lucky you probably are.

On this Christmas day, there are children in hospitals, hungry families, war torn countries and the World is unfortunately full of unhappy and unlucky people.

If, like me, you happen to be among the lucky few, take some time to appreciate and enjoy your luck and, if possible, by all means, try to share it around.

Merry Christmas to you all.

- JM

I love the World

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The End of the Road

I love to drive and am a big fan of road trips.

In December 2001, I drove with my father all the way from Montreal (PQ) to Los Angeles (CA) and back: 11200 km (7000 miles) in 11 days.

In May 2002, with my best buddy Sylvain "Rob" Robillard, during a long week end, we drove from Montreal (PQ) to New Orleans (LA) and back to visit a friend: 6000 km (3750 miles) in 4 days. Including 2 days of party on Bourbon Street.

In 21 years of driving, I had the opportunity to drive (from Montreal, PQ) to the Eastern End of the road (Mingan Archipelago, PQ), the Western End of the Road (Pacific Ocean) and the Southern End of the road (somewhere in the Louisiana Bayou).

The Northern End was missing in my book.

In the same vicinity, I also wanted to visit the mighty LG2 dam, the world's largest underwater power generating station.

So last June, along with my friend Pat, his 4 month old pup Xena, his white FJ Cruiser and red Zodiac boat, we drove from Montreal to Radisson (PQ) and even a little further north to the exact end of the road.

From Montreal, it is a 1400 km (875 miles) drive. When you reach Matagami (800km from Montreal), you have to register before driving futher on the James Bay road. From here it's 650km to the end of the road (Radisson) and there's only one solitary gas station (at the 350 km mark). In an entire day of driving between Matagami and Radisson, we saw a grand total of 5 cars on the road. And this, mind you, was at the height of the high season.

Upon arriving, we visited Hydro Québec dams (LG1 & LG2), the Cree village of Chisasibi (pop. 4000), Radisson (pop. 343) where black bears and wolves roam the streets, the cold shores of James Bay and last but not least, navigated the immense Robert Bourassa Reservoir (1095 sq miles, 3 times the size of Lac St-Jean).

We found an unnamed island we nicknamed Peter Island and camped in total solitude, with only the stars as companions.

This far North (53rd parallel), in early June, sunrise is before 5 AM and sunset around 11 PM so we had plenty of light to take a few pictures.

WikiLeaks - The documentary

I was chatting with Twist Image's president Mitch Joel last year at a Longboard event where he was presenting his new (and very interesting by the way) book Six Pixels of Separation.

It is always fascinating to listen to what Mitch Joel has to say and there are good reasons why he's one of the most prominent Internet Gurus in the World. That day, he told me something that stuck with me.

It ran along the lines: "We're seeing a major change all over the World, this is history shifting. We just can't see it because we are right in the middle of it, but 20 years from now, we'll look back and say: I was there when it happened."

Well, one of these shift has gained momentum in the public's eye and it's Wikileaks and its controversial president Julian Assange.


Here's a short documentary relating Wikileak's rise to fame. Well worth the watch.

The 6th Continent

There is a patch of floating garbage in the North Pacific.

It is twice the size of Texas.

It is so large, it has been dubbed the 6th Continent.

It is not a pretty sight and it is killing the ocean.

One of the major causes is people drinking water from plastic bottles.

In the US alone, 173 589 041 plastic bottles are dumped in the oceans every day.

Yest, you read it right, over 173 million plastic bottles, every day.

Please, stop drinking from disposable plastic bottles and switch to reusable bottles.

It will save you money and give the oceans a chance.

***

I know some of you will think: We all know this, this is old stuff. Come on man, we're in 2011.


I know, I know.


Yet, everyday, I see decent, educated, wealthy professionals using plastic bottles and I'm wondering at how disconnected from reality they can be.


If you already know how bad drinking water from plastic bottles is, go and tell all your friends. I bet some of them haven't heard the Gospel yet.

Skills vs Fame

The Death of Common Sense

Obituary printed in the London Times


Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

- Knowing when to come in out of the rain; 

- Why the early bird gets the worm;

- Life isn't always fair; 

- and maybe it was my fault. 



Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).


His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. 



Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.



It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. 



Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. 



Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.



Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. 



Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. 



He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
- I Know My Rights
- 
I Want It Now 

- Someone Else Is To Blame 

- I'm A Victim 



Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

P.S.: Thanks to Steph Kennan for sharing.