What Pinocchio is trying to tell you

There is an obvious moral message to the film but also some hidden social commentaries that I definitely missed when I watched it as a child. There is an overt religious theme woven into the movie. Biblical references are a central part of the film’s story line from the Blue Fairy who resembles the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as intercessor to Pinocchio’s time spent in the belly of the whale. Not to mention the resemblance of the wishing star to that which announced the birth of Christ.

                                                                (Source: cafemom.com)
My two cent's on the matter: Make sure that you pay close attention to the scene where the Lost Boys tear apart a Catholic Church; it is a detail that sends a powerful message. There is a clear warning about breakdown of the family and religion in society. Disney was prophetic in his portrayal of children who are left to raise themselves.“Pinocchio” is a surprising exploration into the journey of the human soul. That's my two cents, keep the change.)

Apparently, Disney like sex

Subliminal messages are audio or visual stimuli that occur below the threshold of consciousness. In other words, it’s rare that someone would actually be aware that they were seeing or hearing a subliminal message. Subliminal messages in Disney Movies are one of the most popular examples of subliminal messages in modern culture because the subliminal messages in these children’s movies are almost all explicitly sexual. Disney is notorious for using explicit and hidden messages in their movies, TV shows and short films. It is widely known that the messages exist in Disney films, here are two that you can see for yourself:

                    (This was the cover of the original The Little Mermaid movie. Source: eeggs.com)

(The Lion King shows that sometimes these messages are blatant. Source: http://listverse.com/2009/05/10/top-10-hidden-images-found-in-cartoons/ )

My 2 cents on the matter: Verbal hidden messages and visual hidden messages are often flashed across the screen or said so fast that they average viewer is not necessary aware that they are hearing or seeing something out of the ordinary. The message is simply heard or seen and processed quickly. The conscious mind has no chance to think about our filter out the information. These messages are often things that children and teenagers should not be exposed to, especially not when they think that they are watching an innocent film. For this reason, just pay close attention to what is exposed to you. That’s my two cents, keep the change.

When is it okay to drink?

Heritage Day (National Braai Day) has come and gone. People surrounded by good friends, good food, and good drink. If this is a preview of summer, you better believe that there will be more of these good listed things to come. Which begs the age-old question: When is the socially acceptable time to start drinking? This debate has gone on for ages. Today, I would like to come to some kind of consensus once and for all, as this bottle of Three Olives vodka stares at me from across the room.     When I was young, my mother always said to me “People who drink in the middle of the day are alcoholics.” As I grew up, I began to recognize the holes in that theory, especially as I began attending cookout and tailgate parties for football games. Most of these people appear to lead normal, productive lives during the week. They can’t all be raging drunkards spinning out of control.

 (cafepress.com)

Next, I amended her theory and brought myself to think that people who drink in the morning have an alcohol problem. This was debunked when I remembered all of the older Down-South folks that I know who like to put a shot of liquor in their coffee every morning as an old wives tale, home-remedy way of staying healthy (and taking the edge off).  Most of them are sober the majority of the time as well.

My 2 cents on the matter: Right now as it stands, the only daytime rule that I have is to avoid being trashy drunk before 2PM. If it’s obvious that you drank your breakfast this morning, you might want to look into seeking help. Then again, that’s just my personal rule. Everyone has their own internal clock and reasons to drink, just be responsible so that we don’t have to clean up your mess. That’s my 2 cents, keep the change.

"No disrespect, but..." you're going to anyway

                                                            (http://i.qkme.me/353en0.jpg)

“No disrespect” is one of the greatest phrases in the English language, because it allows you to deliver a free insult to someone by making it appear as if you’re trying to spare their feelings. It’s like a free pass to use brutal honesty. 

Below, I have placed a few examples:

Example 1: “No disrespect, but I cannot take your advice very seriously for you are a simpleton.”

Example 2: ” No disrespect, but your breath smells like you just got through eating a foot-and-ass sandwich. Here’s an Altoid. You know, these mints are curiously strong…”

As you can see, “No disrespect” is pretty fun to use, and can be applied in a number of situations. My favorite thing to do is to add a “Furthermore” to the end of the “No disrespect.” That allows you to slide in one more parting shot along the way. Here are a few more examples:

Example 3: “No disrespect, but your girlfriend is not that attractive to me. Furthermore, she needs to stop wearing tight outfits. Nobody wants to see that mess!”

Example 4: “No disrespect, but I don’t think that you possess the ability to keep your legs closed when you meet a new man. Furthermore, I believe therapy and/or Jesus would greatly benefit you.”

My 2 cents on the matter: choose to use this verbal-bashing technique as a shield or a sword. But remember that it’s bad enough we start lying when we say “no disrespect”, so go easy on the insults (unless they really deserve it). That’s my 2 cent’s, keep the change.



It is better to practice a little than talk a lot

When I heard this statement, I was a little confused. I then the obvious dawned on me. This phrase could be conveyed in a different way – don’t let your mouth write cheques that your butt can’t cash. Most people tend to talk a lot in order to mask or disguise the fact that they lack practice.  I didn’t just want to end it there, so I started thinking a little deeper about the phrase.

Why is it better to practice? I know they say that practice make perfect. But if there is no such thing as perfection, then why are we practicing? Doing all that effort to obtain the unobtainable seems a little crazy to me. I get that one can hone their skills and become better with repetition, but come on.

                     (Source: www.markstivers.com/wordpress/comics/2006-05-13%20Practice.gif)

Talking is greatly underestimated. Besides it being a great way to exchange ideas and to read people’s perceptions on life, talking plays a role. For example, a bully at school taking everyone’s lunch money and you decide to stand up to them.  You start bragging about how you know martial arts and describe to them how you beat up your last fight. If he is intimidated they will run away, never questioning your skills. However if he stays for a demonstration, your practicing will pay off.

My two cents on the matter: practicing is important when you have to demonstrate your talents. Talking should be used as the first initiative before we show what we can do because it allows us to understand each other on an intellectual level instead of just rushing towards brute force. That’s my two cents. Keep the change.

A wedding cake in the middle of the road

I know what you are thinking; a wedding cake in the middle of the road would be messy and confusing. Why would a cake be in the middle of the road and who did this? Some of us would rush over and help ourselves to a slice and leftovers. I thought about it and I could not believe my thought.

When I think of a wedding cake I immediately think of weddings and the sanctity of marriage; two lives coming together as one while people pig out on your buffet and doing the funky chicken or the electric slide. To me a marriage is an uphill climb with plateaus, edges, great decoration, with two people at the top enjoying the view that they strived their whole lives to see. The view is their elderly selves with a love stronger than the one when they first met. Not to forget that when one open up a piece of that cake and takes a bite, they can taste the labour of love that went into it. Yummy.

(Source: wedinator.icanhascheezburger.com)



The facts that the cake is in the middle of the road brings another interesting aspect. The road can symbolize the path that the married couple has chosen and situated themselves, in such a position that everyone must recognize it and acknowledge it. It will shock and frustrate most in the beginning, but the longer they take to understand it, they come around to a more observatory stance and accreditation.

My two cents on the matter: Marriage is a delicious and beautiful thing but it needs work and commitment, just like a cake. Once you are satisfied in your eternal union of love and reach the top; we should go out and show the world that in order to obtain love we should demonstrate what love is to all not matter what roads they travel, piece of cake. That’s my two cents, keep the change.

The rising fuel price and how it really impacts us

(Source: http://www.freefunnyjunk.info/)



Being animals, the horse and the chicken don’t learn their lesson and continue to play in the same area. A few days later the chicken falls into the quicksand. Faced with the prospect of dying, the chicken requests the horse to run to the farmer and fetch him for help. But the horse refuses. He says, “I think I can stand by the edge of the quicksand and pull you over. So he stretches over the edge and says, “Grab my ‘thingy’ and pull yourself up.” And the chicken does precisely that and gets pulled to safety.

My two cents on the metter and the moral of the story: “If you are hung like a horse, you don’t need a Mercedes to pick up chicks.” That's my two cents, keep the change.

In the last ten years, the fuel prices have really gone up. One would have thought with Iraq under US control (well, almost) and all other parts of the World where fuel is found under US influence, the World would be a better place to live in. But no.

I have a few thoughts on why we are where we are today, and how we can laugh it over….so let us start with a joke I read sometime back. Here goes:

A horse and a chicken were playing in a farm. Suddenly, the horse falls into the quicksand and starts sinking. He quickly shouts out to the chicken to go and get the farmer so that he could help in pulling out the horse. The chicken goes out …tries her best but is not able to find the farmer. Desperate to help her friend, she drives back in the farmer’s Mercedes Benz C Class bought on Mercedes Star Lease Plan. The chicken then ties a rope to the car’s bumper and throws the rope for the horse to latch on to. She then drives the car fast out…and the horse gets out on land, safe.