Welcome to my blog!!!

Hello all! Let me welcome you to my little corner of the Internet and my contribution to the wonderful world of blogging! I'm glad you've taken the time to check out my humble little creative endeavour here in cyberspace - your interest is very much appreciated. While I'm not entirely new to this particular form of expression - I've posted many replies on my friends' blogs over time - this is the first time I've ever created and managed my own blog. Should be very exciting, and hopefully enlightening! A good way for me to express myself and talk about things that are important to me, to get stuff off my proverbial chest whenever I need to. And if all you readers out there can take away something positive from this every once in a while - whether it be a new perspective on something, an extra little bit of knowledge, the occasional laugh, whatever - even better! That's my goal with this - to inwardly ponder and outwardly stimulate (*aside* no, not that kind of stimulate! Take your mind out of the gutter! ;-) Thus, my reasons for starting this blog are both selfish and selfless; it's as much for me as it is for you!

Just a little advance warning: as a proud and patriotic Canadian, I imagine my posts will inevitably be littered with cultural, social, historical, political and other kinds of references that will be Canada-specific. Or perhaps more broadly North America-specific every so often (I'm also something of a student of American society, history and politics). If this will confuse or confound you (i.e. if I manage to get some U.S. and/or international readers), please let me apologize up front for that. Unconscious habit, I'm sure! I'll try to minimize it as much as possible without sacrificing quality or meaning. However, I'm sure my Canuck upbringing and its idiosyncracies will seep through and manifest themselves now and again regardless. If you ever need some clarification or any background explanation, please don't hesitate to ask! There's absolutely no shame in it! After all, the gaining of knowledge (and hopefully wisdom) is my central objective here. Doesn't matter how big or small that piece of knowledge is - as long as we find some kind of value in it. Or, if you'd rather, I'd encourage you to look it up yourself. Hooray for Google! I sometimes think that particular search engine is a divine gift and blessing... So great for research! You never know, you might even find something even more interesting in the process! It's all good, eh! :-)

There are some ground rules I'd like to establish first, though:

1. I don't mind if you swear or curse occasionally in your replies, as long as its sensible and non-derogatory. Hell, I'll slip in a few choice words often enough ;-) I will not tolerate frequent and/or gratuitous profanity, though. If you're one of those people who uses the word "fuck" to punctuate your sentences, you're not welcome here. I do have standards. Using the occasional colourful metaphor to emphasize a point is okay by me; casual swearing merely to offend or to shock is NOT acceptable. Remember, I reserve the right to remove any inappropriate or offensive posts...
2. No personal attacks against me or any contributors to this blog will be permitted. I'm big on mutual respect and dignity. If you disagree with something that was said, present your counter-arguments and/or rebuttals in a calm, reasonable and professional manner. An open dialogue is a good thing - I'll be happy to start a debate or two, as long as it remains civil. No Jerry Springer-type crap here. Namecalling belongs in the schoolyard.
3. Any and all topics are fair game here. My posts will generally be of a historical or political bent a lot of the time, but not exclusively. I'll most likely include personal updates and anecdotes at times. If I feel like posting something on psychology, music, TV, new gadgets, how drunk I got on the weekend or whatever, I will. It's my blog, after all. The same goes for all of you. Don't be shy. I'm a pretty opinionated guy - I'll always put my two cents in if I can! No subject is off-limits. Just try not to give me a daily report on the state of Britney's marriage, Paris Hilton's exercise regimen, Lindsay Lohan's party schedule, etc.
4. Basically, all I ask is that you use a measure of common sense (which may not be so common anymore...) and courtesy when you're posting replies. No one here is better or smarter or more right than anyone else, least of all me! I respect everybody's opinions, even if I happen to disagree with them. Just keep in mind we all have feelings which can be hurt. It's all about the R-E-S-P-E-C-T, to quote the great Aretha Franklin.

One last thing: in case you're wondering, I got the title for my blog from a quote by Sir Winston Churchill (one of my heroes/idols): "The empires of the future are the empires of the mind." It's from a speech he gave at Harvard University on September 6, 1943. Truth be told, there was no particular reason for the choice, no great and insightful underlying metaphor in mind - I just like the way it sounds! Besides, I'm always fond of quoting good old Winston! Feel free to draw from it whatever meaning or symbolism you wish...