I so wish I could just leave that title there and write nothing at all down here. That would make my day! Just to leave a bunch of very confused people wondering what I could possibly be writing about that would offer such wonderful results! I'm just going to give your minds a second to wonder and to ponder a little about what might be the topic of today's blog...

Let us dive into it then. I should start by telling you the mysterious subject is actually a product. It's a common household item that was once used to clean floors, typically in commercial applications, and the great part is, you've probably put it in your mouth... voluntarily! We can move on from the distasteful thoughts about Lysol-lemonade for a moment to remind you that this product, the one you may have soaked your tongue in, was also marketed as a cure for gonorrhea (and yes, I had to look up the spelling of gonorrhea for the sake of this post.)

So here we have it, a product that, without changing it chemical composition, or even it's flavour, did all this! What could it be? None other than friendly bathroom-counter-top Listerine! Named for the father of sterilization, Joseph Lister, who promoted sterilization for surgical tools and conducted the first documented sterilized surgery, Listerine has a very, uhh...interesting background. Originally, near the three-quarter mark of the 19th century, "Listerine" was widely used to sterilize floors in shops and hospitals (and even to sterilize the tools and trays). Somehow down the line they discovered, I hope not by freak accident, that it cured gonorrhea also. Likewise with its multitude of purposes it became a widely used item, but when sales started to slip, the product was then diluted and sold as a mouthwash.

So this is a story that came out a little while ago that adds a little awesome to the world. For years there have been controversies involving sextrade workers and their legality. Some places have allowed it, licensed it, put it in dark rooms and hid it away... other places have embraced it and made cultural-tourism centers from it, even going as far as to promote it with themed streets and window displays.

Now as a Canadian, I have come to understand that I barely own my humanoid shape. I am as much the property of Ottawa as I am my own. I have an encoded 9 digit code; I am unable to sell my body or any of it's parts (with the exception of certain excreted fluids); In the event of an emergency my body is to be resuscitated and handled in a legal fashion by the state... all in all I'm just barely renting it from Harper at this point. Obviously we've had problems with sextrade workers just like anywhere else, however I believe we are taking advice from all the wrong places.

So already a few friends have inquired as to what exactly Memento Mori IS... well here it goes.

So a couple hundred years ago a few hundred people were fed up with social trends. These people were educated though mostly self-taught. Amongst the circle were great writers, artists, artisans, peasants, and general middle-class folks. In a time, around the 14c, when public figures were religious aristocrats and slaves to the bourgeoisie, the general populace was getting sick and tired of lies, corruption, greed, and abuse of power.
This sort of atmosphere beckoned calls for reform and many schisms of religious organizations... all together the world seemed like it was ready to tear at the seams. Instead of following in the paths of religious nay-sayers and nihilists and such, some of the men and women in this circle decided it was time for change.
In short the Renaissance (Rebirth) was developing and people were now understanding that the world did not need to be dictated by overlords and doomsday proclaimers.
These people took to society like a sensation of relief and they made some of the greatest decisions ever.
It's from this time that we get sayings such as "C'est la vie", "Carpe Diem, Carpe Noctem", "Eat Drink and be Merry", "Que Sera, Sera", etc.
It was a time that has been captured, in my mind at least, in the wood-carving of "La Dance Macabre". People no longer feared eternity or slaved in this life for future reward, but rather celebrated life and death and accepted mortality as an essential part of life!

It seems to me that today we have recreated these overlords, the corruption and greed is prevalent again...
So I've taken it upon myself to help in the good-fight. The fight for what truly is a celebration of life, humanitarian efforts, and accepting love, art, nature, and the human spirit for what it truly is... awesome!

This blog is a small effort to remind people what life is like when we don't read the news that tells us how awful everything is and how mediocre we are expected to be. It's real easy to find depressing news and to shed bad light on any subject these days... so let's fight back and highlight the world!

Remember, we are all in this together.
We ARE society. Don't let the small issues take center stage, and remember to fight world-suck any way you can. Help fight the good fight :)

Cheers,
-D-

Hey guys,

What better way to kick-off a blog dedicated to awesome than by raising money for the Canadian Cancer Society with a bunch of other awesome people? This is just another charity dedicated to helping reduce the level of world-suck on this planet and they are doing a lot to help people who really need their support. 

So why not help me support the supporters! I will be climbing the 660 steps to the top of the Tower on Saturday the 6th (Nov.10) and providing my bum-knee doesn't become detached in a horribly gory, post-hallowe'en bloodbath, I will reach the top having donated a minimum of 100 bucks to the society.

I know 100 bucks doesn't sound like much, but being one in thousands I hope to raise that as a minimum! (Unless you guys want to help raise that bar a little... nudge nudge*) So check out this link and feel free to make a donation. I won't be offended with pocket change, every little bit helps :)

To make a donation for the Climb for Cancer (or more accurately the climb against cancer...) visit this link and pledge.




Click here to pledge!




Remember, only YOU can prevent world-suck!




Cheers,

-D-






P.S. if the link doesn't work, copy and paste the following:

http://convio.cancer.ca/site/TR/UnitFundraisingEvent/UFE_ON_even_?px=3746096&pg=personal&fr_id=9220