Is Technology Killing the Art of Spelling?

I know this is going to make me sound like an old fart but I need to get it off my chest. When u r not txtn on a fone, try to spell the words properly. I frequent Internet forums/discussion groups for information and it drives me nuts when I have to try and decipher what some kid put out there. It's hard to respect someone or take them seriously when they type out a message like this guy:

"hey wutup every1?? i jsu moved in dis area and dun kno de ppl dat r gonan b goin to dis schoo nxt year. IM lookin for the afghans,iranis and de all ma brownies." (courtesy of a Facebook group)

Is it me or does this look like gibberish? I would seriously question this kid's ability to spell at a high school level. But I guess none of his teachers would see the problem even if he did have trouble spelling because of good ol' spell checkers. I have no issue with using short form but this is ridiculous. The scary thing is this is common practice among teens and preteens. What's even scarier is the fact that the English language evolves over time and this could be the direction it takes.

If you're a parent, please do your kid a favour and make sure he/she can spell correctly without the use of a spell checker on the computer.

Bye Bye Britney

Oh, how the once beloved Britney Spears has fallen. After last night's pathetic, amateurish performance at the MTV VMA show, it's safe to say her career is officially dead. The MTV producers took a gamble and it failed big time.

This was supposed to be Britney's big opportunity to promote her upcoming album so you'd think she would work her ass off to get back in shape and learn the choreography but that would make too much sense for a self-indulgent, trailer park princess. The fact that she had 2 kids is no excuse for the way she looked on stage. She could've chosen a more tasteful, yet sexy outfit to suit her current self instead of something young Britney would've worn on stage. She should've learned from someone like Nelly Furtado. Physique aside, this girl couldn't even keep up with her dancers. There is no excuse for that considering she used to be a capable dancer on stage. Probably the worst part of the performance was her inability to lip sync. I guess in her effort to keep up with the choreography, she forgot to keep up with her own prerecorded voice.

Justin Timberlake probably had a good chuckle (if he even bothered to watch). K-Fed must've pissed his pants laughing so hard. Let's hope for her sake that the new album does better than K-Fed's crap.

Is Elections Canada taking PC too far?

I'm glad we live in a country where people are allowed to practice their cultural and/or religious beliefs. However, Elections Canada is taking it too far with a new policy to allow Muslim women wearing burkas to vote without having to reveal their faces to confirm identity. Visual identification is in place for a reason. We need a transparent electoral system that is as black and white as possible. Look at the Florida debacle during the Bush/Gore election. This is not an issue about Muslims or the wearing of burkas. This is simply about making sure every person who exercises his/her right to vote is who they claim to be. Every Canadian should have to follow the same rules of law so no one can question the legitimacy of the results.

Before anyone starts to point fingers, it should be made clear that Elections Canada made this decision without any consultation from the Muslim community. No one lobbied for this new policy to be implemented. Hopefully, Parliament will be able to reverse the decision before the next election. Otherwise, I hope everyone will have a Halloween mask ready. Hmm? Darth Maul or George Dubya?