Luke Himself

10 Reasons To Ban Same-Sex Marriage

Despite our Prime Minister’s views against gay marriage, the New Zealand Prime Minister and the United States President have now both shown their support for same-sex marriage. But is it the right thing to do? From the USA, here are ten perfectly good reasons to keep same-sex marriage illegal:

Being gay is not natural. Real Americans will always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester and air conditioning.
Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all like many of the principles on which this great country was founded; women are still property, blacks still can’t marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed. The sanctity of marriages like Britney Spears’ 55 hour just-for-fun would be destroyed.
The only valid marriages are those which produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn’t be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren’t full yet, and the world needs more children.
Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
Children can never succeed without both a male and a female role model at home. That’s why we as a society we expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven’t adapted to cars, the service-sector economy or longer life spans.

Aren’t we lucky to have such a sensible Prime Minister?

15 May 2012 Humour 2 Comments

My First Canadian Working Holiday Visa

With my USA J-1 Visa for my upcoming Summer Camp job approved, all I needed to complete my overseas plans was my Canadian Working Holiday visa. I started the application about two months ago through Canada’s International Experience Canada website which is set up specifically for Australians wanting to work in Canada. It has heaps of information available on choosing the type of working program, information about applying and the online application itself. It’s pretty much a one-stop shop for Aussies wanting to work in the Great White North.

There are three main types of work programs available. They are all available for Australians aged 18 to 30 and allow you to work in Canada for up to two years. The main difference is the Working Holiday program (which I applied for) focuses on less specialised jobs and does not require you to have a job offer. The Young Professionals program and the International Co-Op program are focused on more specialised jobs and require you to have a job offer (check the website for more information on the different programs available).

I choose this particular program as it allows quite a flexible work and travel balance and means I can have the freedom to move around and work at different places while I travel. The great thing about the Canadian visa application for this program is they sent me an email with personalised instructions on how to complete my application. At times it’s a bit confusing as the steps can differ from what you’ve been told on the website, but for the most part it’s what you can expect of a visa application – lots of forms to fill out and the need to make sure you read everything correctly and complete all the questions accurately.

I found the fees for the program to be very reasonable. I paid AU$150 for the program fee which you send via an Australia Post money order with your application. In addition, there is the cost of an Australian Federal Police Check (if you don’t have one already) which may set you back around $45, plus the small costs of postage envelopes (I recommend sending express so it doesn’t get lost and it speeds up your application) and getting passport photos made up. Altogether it cost me less than $250, but be sure to check the website for current fees at the time of your application. And as I wrote with the USA J-1 visa, I always recommend keeping copies of all your payments, receipts, email correspondence and completed application forms in a safe place.

If you want to work in a field where there is a need for protection of public health, they will also require you to undergo a medical examination. As I wanted the option of working with children, I had to fulfill this requirement as part of my application. To put it simply, I found this to be the most annoying part of the application. You can only do the medical examination with the doctors they refer you to, which for me was in the city. The next available appointment was nearly a month away, so all I could do was be patient. The whole process at the appointment took about 2 hours, with them calling you up for different parts of the medical. They do the whole works, including chest x-rays, and ask lots of questions. The medical examination cost me around $500, so it ended up being over twice the cost of the visa application itself. While it can be a bit annoying, I understand the need for them to ensure the health of people going to work in particular fields in their country and hey, it’s always good to have a thorough check-up on your health!

Canada do not issue your work permit in Australia but instead send you a letter of introduction which you present to customs when entering Canada, who will then process your work permit. They send this via email and from what I can see, it seems as simple as printing it out and keeping it on you to present at the border.

In conclusion I really found the whole process for the Canadian Working Holiday visa to be very straight forward. Especially if you don’t have to do a medical examination, you will find the process easy and the majority of it can be completed online or at home. Of course this has been my personal experience and it may differ depending on your personal circumstances. In no way should the information contained in this post be relied upon for your own visa application.

I look forward to new adventures in Canada and seeing where the road will take me!

13 May 2012 Travel 2 Comments

Atmosphere Live

I started listening to Atmosphere back in 2007 after a recommendation of a friend. While I had always been into hip-hop, Atmosphere really opened the window for me into the world of underground hip-hop, and pushed my away from the more commercialised hip-hop that most people relate to the genre. My initial Atmosphere favourites were Always Coming Back Home To You (his first song I heard) and Trying to Find a Balance, but it wasn’t long before I discovered some of the lighter tunes filled with meaningful lyrics that I had never really heard before in hip-hop. Before I knew it Atmosphere was my favourite hip-hop artist, and that’s why I looked forward with such excitement when I heard that Atmosphere would be touring Australia and New Zealand with a stop in my home town Melbourne, nearly five years after I first discovered them.

The show at The Hi-Fi was opened by a Melbourne-based rapper called Eloquor, who I had never heard of before. He threw out some good rhymes and it was interesting to hear that he is also a teacher at Caulfield Park Community School. His performance was followed by Evidence, a rapper from California and member of rap group Dilated Peoples and part of popular underground label Rhymesayers (producing other great hip-hop acts such as Brother Ali, Grieves and of course Atmosphere). He rocked the place pretty well and got the crowd prepared for Atmosphere. He played two of my favourite songs of his, The Red Carpet and You, both from his latest album Cats & Dogs.

Atmosphere started his show with the song Became from his latest album, a song I really like for its creepy lyrics and cryptic meaning. After that he was straight into the show, throwing out rhyme after rhyme with a few short words between songs. He definitely seemed to focus on his harder stuff and got the crowd involved with brief stories and interactions.It’s interesting to see Slug on stage as you really notice in his communication with the crowd that he really is just a regular guy, and he’s pretty much out there having fun and doing a job he loves. He threw in some occasional humour that went down well with the crowd and got plenty of laughs.

11 May 2012 Music, My Stuff 4 Comments

Even More Amazing Places

Even more amazing places around the world…

Mount Taranaki, New Zealand

Alesund, Norway

Monument Valley, Utah, United States of America

09 May 2012 General No Comments

$80k Bugatti Veyron

A while ago I posted a blog about what I called the Ferrari Corollia, a replica Ferrari F430 built on a donor Toyota Corolla. While there are many of these replica and kit cars around from classic Ford supercars to Lamborghinis and Ferraris, prehaps the wildest attempt to surface recently is a guy from Florida, United States who has built a replica of the world’s fastest and most popular supercar, the Bugatti Veyron, and now he’s selling it for a mere AU$77,000 (US$80,000), a big difference from the real thing’s $1.6million base price.

It took nine months for the 25-year-old American to convert his donor car into the supercar look-a-like. It’s definitely the first 4-seater Veyron (if you would dare to call it a Veyron) around. In fact the car that sits under the replica body is a bland 2002 Mercury Cougar, and even worse the car is still powered by the same 2.5-litre V6 that comes with the car. That makes the replica over 600kW short of the power of the real thing.

While the real Veyron features special Michelin run-flat tyres which cost AU$25,000 a set and can only be removed from the rims by a special machine in France (a service which will set you back AU$68,000), this owner has instead opted for a set of aftermarket 20-inch rims. So if you want to save over $1.5 million and miss out on nearly all of the insane features and performance of owning a real Veyron, make this guy an offer!

07 May 2012 Cars No Comments

Beretta Jetfire

My personal favourite defense gun has always been the Beretta Jetfire in 22 short. I have carried it for many years including while hiking. I never leave home without it in my pocket.

Of course the first rule when hiking in the wilderness is to always use the Buddy System. This means you NEVER hike alone. Always bring a friend, companion or family member so if something happens there is someone to help.

I remember this one time while hiking with my girlfriend in northern Alberta when out of nowhere came this huge brown bear charging at us, and boy was she mad. We must have been near one of her cubs. Anyway, if I had not had my little Beretta Jetfire I would not be here writing this today.

Just one shot to my girlfriend’s knee cap was all it took, and the bear got her and I was able to escape by just walking away at a brisk pace.

It’s one of the best pistols in my collection.

05 May 2012 Humour 2 Comments

More Amazing Places

Some more amazing places around the world…

Paterswoldse Meer, Netherlands

Doha Port Stadium, Qatar

Riomaggiore, Italy

03 May 2012 General 2 Comments

Ten Thoughts To Ponder

Life is sexually transmitted and invariably fatal.

Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

Give a person a fish and you can feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.

Some people are like a slinky – not really good for anything, but you still can’t help but smile when you push them down the stairs.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospitals, dying of nothing.

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

Why does a slight tax increase cost you $800 and a substantial tax cut saves you $30?

In the 60s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

Life is like a jar of Jalapeno peppers, what you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow.

01 May 2012 Humour 5 Comments

Amazing Places

Some amazing places around the world…

Meteora, Greece

Skaftafeli, Iceland (under a glacier)

The Capilano Suspension Bridge, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

29 April 2012 General 2 Comments

Lego Professional

Ryan McNaught is a builder of a different kind. He creates wild and wonderful creations in every kid’s favourite toy – Lego. He is Australia’s only certified Lego professional, one of thirteen worldwide, meaning he gets to work for Lego making huge and highly detailed Lego models.

Some of his creations can take hundreds of thousands of pieces of Lego to build. He is currently building a Lego model of the Sydney Opera House which should be finished this year. His models can weigh over 100kg and take several months to build. Think your Lego creations as a kid were cool? Check out some of his creations: