RIP Michael Jackson…

Yes, I am going to add to the discussion of Michael Jackson’s death, but not in the way you might think. You may or may not know that I am not a fan of the celebrity worship culture that exists in our society. Some individuals argue that celebrities have to put up with the constant surveillance and reporting on their lives as part of the job description of celebrity. I disagree. I think that celebrities should be accorded the same respect and privacy that anyone deserves. They are people trying to make a life and a career for themselves. They do not deserve having cameras shoved in their faces and Perez Hilton gossiping about every minutiae of their lives. So how does this relate to Michael Jackson?
It is tragic that Michael Jackson died. It is tragic when anyone dies. Yet not everyone gets the world-stopping media attention when they die. Yesterday and today radio stations are playing tribute to MJ by playing his songs. People are lamenting his demise on Facebook and Twitter (so much so on Twitter that the servers crashed!). I ask why? What makes a sad, emotionally torn pop star worthy of such attention. His fame drove him into an unhealthy mental state. It is likely that he was abused as a child, and his early fame certainly did not help him become a well adjusted adult. Does this make his death earth-shattering news?
Now for the perspective: In South Africa, there were almost 1000 deaths a day due to HIV/AIDS by the end of 2007. 56 homeless people died in 2006 and 2007 in Vancouver. How many children die from starvation, unclean water and poverty in Canada and the world everyday? Where are the Twitter-crashing tweets about these countless deaths that happen everyday? Where are the news reports about these nameless, faceless people who die. It is just as tragic when one of the poor, the unknown die as when a famous celebrity dies. But few seem to notice. Each was a life unique, with hopes and dreams and desires and fears, now forever gone.
Celebrities are no more knowledgeable, important, wise or anything more than you, me or the homeless women looking for a safe place to stay the night on East Hasting’s.

It is tragic when someone, anyone dies. Do not get so hung up on a celebrity death…

S.

June draws to a close..

Managed to do my Tuesday and Wednesday runs with not too much trouble. Ran 6.62 km on Tuesday in 35 minutes, with an average pace of 5:17min/km and ran 10.09 km Wednesday in 51:34 minutes, with an average pace of ~5:07min/km. My left knee cap feels sore this morning, so I am going to try to run an easier 6 km tomorrow to loosen things up, especially my calves.

School is ending, and I have my final for Biology 270 this afternoon. I am not sure how I feel about it. I think I am adequately prepared, but I am not really sure what is going to be on it… meh…

Planning on seeing Transformers 2 this evening with my brother-in-law. I am not too worried about the plot. I want to see giant transforming robots blowing things up. I admit it, I am not some film snob. I like big robots and explosions and the like… What can I say.

That is it for me and my moderately mundane life…

Watch the skies.
S.

Registration Complete!

I have done it. I have registered for the 2009 BMO Okanagan Marathon. October 11, 2009 I will be attempting to run 42.2 km in Kelowna, BC. Come watch me die!

The registration is non-refundable, so hopefully I do not injure myself during training. That would really suck! It makes a huge difference to my mindset to be registered in a goal race. The goal is tangible, and I have spent resources on it. Now I am more motivated than ever to finish…
I ran 13 km on Sunday for our Long-Slow-Distance. My average pace was 6:20 or so, which is slightly faster than during my 1/2 marathon training, but that is good. I need to push myself during this training… The run felt good, and I felt fine afterwards. Tonight is 6 km at a quick pace, so hopefully I will be able to run that without too much strain. The other ones I have run have gone well, so I am not too worried about it.

This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one. Lots of stuff going on, and I have to find the time to run 22 km!

Enough boredom for you all for now…

Keep watching the skies….
Scott

Update – Thursday

I know that I have not been writing biting and witty commentary on society lately. I find that much of my energy is sapped from work, so I decided that in order to keep blogging, I would focus my writings on my life – specifically on my marathon training…

I ran 10 km at a pretty good pace last night. No stopping (except for 2 or 3 street lights) and I did it in about 52:30 with an average pace of about 5:20 per kilometer (minutes:seconds). I had not run since last Wednesday as I had class Sunday all day and had a staff even Tuesday night. I managed pretty well, despite my stiff legs. I was on my feet all day in the gym doing exam supervision (or invigilation if you prefer… which I do. It sounds like some pseudo-mystical warrior thing…) wearing dress shoes! I learned my lesson and am wearing runners today!

My biggest hurdle, discipline-wise, is to get out on my own and do two more runs a week. I currently run Tuesday and Wednesday nights and Sunday morning with my clinic group. I would like to be running on Thursday and Friday as well, but I find it incredibly difficult to get going. I either have to get up way too early, or am too tired in the afternoon…. Sigh.

I need to go do some mark/progress report stuff…

Be kind

Scott

Monday Update…

Good Monday to you all…
This is just a short little update post to let you in on the mediocre mundaneness that is my life. Yes, I am still walking and running, having not actually torn anything resembling a ligament or a tendon, but I missed my long run Sunday! Instead I was on a field trip with my forensic biology class. We were forensically excavating a dead calf that had been buried in a field for 8 or so months. It was good times!

Some things that I learned for from our excursion:
1) Doing anything forensically takes many times longer than anything that you see on TV. We worked far faster than what a real team would do and it still took us hours just to expose the corpse. Everything must be meticulously documented, photographed, sketched, logged, etc etc etc. Cases are not solved in hours…
2) If you want a corpse to decompose in an appreciable amount of time, do not bury it in dry soil, two feel down. Once we had exposed the body, there was very little decomposition. There was certainly an interesting odour about the corpse, but there was still plenty of tissue remaining. In short, it was pretty gooey. We did not try to remove the body for fear of the mess that would have made. The reason little decomp occurred is that the conditions were anaerobic, or lacking oxygen. That meant that there was no insect activity and little bacterial action. We left the hole exposed to the air, covered with plywood, so when we go back in 470 we should see some good decomp and insect activity.

I am still teaching for the month of June, and the students are trying to stay focused enough to get through their exams. I have my own exams coming up to worry about! A lab exam on Friday and a final next Thursday. Guess I had better start studying…

Not much new and exciting otherwise. Get to see my sister, her husband and my niece next weekend – should be fun!

Thats all for now folks

Be Kind

Scott

Another Day…

Greetings… I just spent the last 15 minutes writing an update, and for some reason it vanished into the aether… Oh well. Here is mark II:

I have not been blogging with anything resembling regularity, so I thought I would take a minute and update you, my faithful reader(s), on the events that are my life. No great insights or world shattering ideas here today. Just a few words on my life…

I was fortunate enough to obtain a term contract for the month of June. I have two grade 10 science classes and on biology 11 class. My students work pretty well, but it is hard for everyone at this time of year to stay motivated. Unfortunately I am then unemployed over the summer, so if you have any work for me, let me know

I have also started training for a marathon! That is correct: I am going to train to run 42.2 km (or 26 miles if you are imperialistic in your metrics). I want to run the Okanagan Marathon (Kelowna, October 11, 2009). I am nervous and excited. Nervous because if you know me, you will know that I was never traditionally an athlete. Excited because I have never attempted something this ambitious, requiring so much discipline. I want to succeed, so I need to work hard. I really enjoy running… And lets face it, part of it is bragging rights!!

I am also taking classes at the ole’ universityscholarium for the summer and continue to chip away at my Bachelor of Science.

Life goes on, much as it has the past few months, and in the grand scheme of things, I have little to complain about. I have my health ( at least I think I do) and a loving family. A roof over my head, and generally steady employment… I am an extremely wealthy man when it comes down to it.

Enough ramblings… hopefully more posts later!

Be Kind

S.