Recession?

You know a recession has hit when you start seeing ads like this one:

What You Say Will Be Used Against You

Lighten things up with a comic from my favorite artist:

Fetus Photo-op

Living Memorial For Mother

My mother passed away the day after Mothers day 2014 from brain cancer. McInnis &  Holloway Funeral Homes planted a tree in her memory along with more then 2000 other trees in memory of others that passed away that same year. Although I wasn't able to attend the 18th annual tree planting ceremony in person I did catch these two articles in the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun mentioning the tree planting ceremony. I thought I would post the articles for those interested in knowing a little bit about the idea and its success. Her name along with the names of other deceased Calgarian's are inscribed on a granite panel on site. These articles were posted in the newspapers on September 22 2014.

Here is a copy of her Obituary posted shortly after her death:

AHLAVAN, Annie 

Annie Pahlavan, age 63, passed away peacefully on 12 May 2014, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Annie was born in Schwarzach im Pongau, Austria, 28 March 1951, to Marianne-Anna and Paul Zarkov. Annie was a very talented artist, successful fashion designer, an intuitive healer, and her amazing life-long bond with animals was beyond remarkable. She will be remembered for her extraordinary wit; her great intelligence; her absolute joy in giving and inexhaustible generosity; her immaterial nature; her genuine love for her many friends and family all around the world; her compassion and dedication to her pets and all animals; her healing talents; and her unstoppable feistiness and joy of life! All things that we will be missing forever. Annie is survived by her husband Dr. Kius Pahlavan; children Sura Pahlavan, Liene and René Pahlavan, Veis and Wade McGinnis, and Shima and Roham Pahlavan; her brothers-in- law and spouses Dr. Kambiz and Dr. Jody Pahlavan, and Dr. Kaveh and Farzaneh Pahlavan; her best friends Dr. Morley and Joan Hollenberg, Dr. Shahrokh and Marie Soltani, Dr. Walter and Christa Gruen and family, Hannes Hacker, and Verena Braune; and her much beloved pets Kira, Romeo and Pupsie; as well as her very many, many more family and friends all over Canada, America, and Austria. Condolences can be sent to pahladise@gmail.com. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/calgaryherald/obituary.aspx?pid=171090145#sthash.ghpW322x.dpuf

And a link to her Obituary guest book:

http://www.legacy.com/guestbooks/calgaryherald/annie-pahlavan-condolences/171090145?cid=full#sthash.CBcNMLzN.dpbs

We all love you and miss you greatly Mom. Rest in peace.

Roham

Hide and Squeak Mcdonalds

Mouse found in bottom of coffee cup at a McDonald's in New Brunswick Canada. My guess is it got there during the manufacturing process, probably as they were stacking the cups. Doesn't sound as sanitary as you would be led to believe. 

Most Bigoted TV Show

Great article describing how racist a TV show I've never seen is. The problem is that with shows like C.S.I portraying TV as accurate and scientific it's very easy for people to misinterpret this show the same way. It's Hollywood's way of always skewing the truth of what the middle east is truly like and trying to change public perception.

Born In The Year 2536

After spending some time looking over my Shenasnameh(Goverment Issued Major ID) with my father-in-law we realized that my birth date was set in the year 2536. He explained that the Shah changed the calender to start from when Cyrus the great ruled over the land. The change came in 1976 but the revolution had taken hold just a short year or two later and the idea was scrapped. My Shenasnameh is one of few surviving examples of this period of time because most the Shenasnameh's of that time were destroyed when they were updated to the Islamic style Shenasnameh after the revolution where the lion with scimitar was also removed.

Short description of the events of those times:


The Shah saw himself as heir to the kings of ancient Iran, and in 1971 he held an extravagant celebration of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. In 1976 he replaced the Islamic calendar with an "imperial" calendar, which began with the foundation of the Persian empire more than 25 centuries earlier. These actions were viewed as anti-Islamic and resulted in religious opposition. - See more at: http://www.iranchamber.com/history/mohammad_rezashah/mohammad_rezashah.php#sthash.og5jA0Kv.dpuf