Books I've Read: Boys Adrift:

Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men
by Leonard Sax

Ideas from this though provoking book have come up in conversation several times already since I read this book. I'm sure many of us have heard stories or anecdotes of how hard it is to find someone who can put in a honest days work, or how simplified some college courses have become due to the lack of basic education that many come into them with.  I know I've heard the stories of laziness from many who work in the trades or construction, and I have seen it myself in offices and factories as well. There was a professor that I knew that had his college math class complaining that his tests were too hard, so he had my highschool aged cousin do the test, which she easily passed. These types of stories seem commonplace and in this book Leonard Sax looks into some of the possible reasons for this.  He focuses in the book on problems that are specific to boys, although I'm sure a book could also be written on what out culture is doing wrong when it comes to girls as well.

The 5 factors that he looks at are:
1) Education system flaws
2) Excessive use of ADD/ADHD medications
3) Video Games
4) Endocrine Distruptors
5) Devaluation of Masculinity

I was a little skeptical on some of these, but even then he gave me a lot to think about.  My favorite point was that of the devaluation of masculinity.  We live in a culture were its just not cool to tell a boy that he needs to be a man, and even if we where to tell him that, how many boys would actually know what 'being a man' look like? Boys need to grow up into men, and they need role models that show them what true masculinity looks like. As men, we need to model masculinity. We need to show those boys in our lives that being a man means using our strength to help other.

I really enjoyed this book and gained a lot from reading it.  Easy to read and well reasoned, it was a thought provoking book.

Random Quote:
After one of the boys from Prep has spent five weeks working dawn to dusk to build an infirmary or a road or an aqueduct, and the job is done and he returns home, he can watch NFL football on a Sunday afternoon and see a beer commercial that claims that real men drink Miller beer - and that boy can laugh. He knows that being a real man has nothing to do with drinking any particular brand of beer. it has to do with using your strength in the service of others. (Page 182)

The Hobbit

Here is a cool little clip about some of the sets, costumes, makeup etc. as they prepare for filming The Hobbit. Pretty crazy to see how much work goes into a movie like this before they even start filming!

On the Election

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money – Margaret Thatcher

Here in Canada we have an election coming up.  There are campaigns being run, promises being made, accusation being hurled and talking heads, well, talking. Of course election time also brings with it a question.  Who should I vote for?  Don't worry, I'm not going to convince you to vote for any particular party. I'm more interested in looking at some voting principles.

I always struggle at election time when trying to decide who to vote for.  Do I vote for the party with the platform I agree with the most?  What if that party has no reasonable chance of getting in?  What if I don't like any of the platforms?  Do I vote based on party lines, or do I only consider what the candidates in my riding stand for? What about the fact that politicians seem to break their word as if it was a brick at a karate convention?  Should I vote at all if I'm forced to choose between pack-of-lies 1 and pack-of-lies 2?


I know pretty well where I stand on social/economic ideas, but the problem is none of the 'big' parties  really come all that close to what I believe.  If you merely look at the party platforms I'm probably the closest to the conservatives, especially on economic issues, but when I look at the conservative track record I end up shaking my head and wondering where they got the idea that what they are doing is fiscally conservative? The same thing happens when you look at social issues.  Can I really trust anybody to represent what I believe?  Probably not.

So if I don't like any of the major parties should I vote for some obscure party that doesn't have a shot at getting in?  It seems kind of like wasting a ballot sometimes especially when I still dont' agree with their whole platform.  However, I do think that it is important to support those that come closest to what I believe.  When the rubber meets the road in parliament, it doesn't seem to make much difference whether there is a conservative or liberal government in control.  The policies that come out often end up being different spins on the same thing with enough good mixed in with the bad to prevent the implosion of our country and enough bad in there to make me want to declare my home and independent entity.  Ultimately I think that true, radical change will never come through an election.  Some other event is going to have to trigger that, so I am left with a choice between voting for the 'best' candidate, even though I probably don't have a lot in common with him, or not voting/spoiling my ballot.


I suppose in the end I'll roll my eyes, cast my ballot, and go on my cynical way, because when it comes down to it, agreeing with less than half of the platform is better than agreeing with less than 10% of it.  Good things seem to take time to come and sometimes it seems like stemming the tide is hopeless, but I guess I'm not called to stem the tide, just to throw my little bit of mud and do what I can, leaving the rest in hands that are bigger than mine.

Books I've Read - Animal Farm

Animal Farm
By George Orwell

Yes I know, this is a classic and I should have read it long ago.  Having finally gotten around to reading this book I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Much has already been made of the lessons in this book in English classes across this country so I won't try to analyze it too much.  If you have not read this book though, you really should.  I think one of my favorite characters in the book was the donkey.  In repeatedly stating that he had lived a long time, I could hear the words of Solomon:  'There is nothing new under the sun.'  It is true, of course, that people can and do change, but utopia cannot be found on this side of heaven. 

This book presents a good story in a quick and easy read and still gives you a lot to chew on and think about.  There really is a lot of depth in this book and I can see why it has become require reading in the classroom.  I'm pretty sure that my kids will be reading this book!

Random Quote:
Twelve voices were shouting in anger, and they were all alike. No question, now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which (pg 95)

Bible Word Cloud

Someone put together a word cloud of each book of the Bible, visually showing the frequency of words in each book. Its incredible to see how important the words God, Lord, and Jesus Christ are. In almost every book of the bible (except Esther) these words are among the most commonly used words. This is a good visible illustration that the bible is primarily about God's work. There are, of course, incredible benefits to following the teachings God had given us, but first and foremost the bible is a book about God. God has done so much for us! He has given so much to us! May his name be honoured!

Rob Bell. Yes I'm Finally Going There.

I have studiously avoided talking about Rob Bell, mostly because there has already been far to much talk about his new book, but I have finally found a response that I like.

First watch the trailer for his new book


And then, watch this response.


Robbed Hell - C.A.S.T. Pearls Presents from Canon Wired on Vimeo.