Last night was quite the evening, to say the least. After finding absolutely nothing to do, I hopped on the bus to downtown to hit the annual NYE festivities in Victoria Park.

The bus ride in itself was quite the event. As you can imagine, it was packed with rather…. intoxicated… kids who were certainly nowhere near the legal age for drinking. The group in front of me discussed how much acid they’d done before they hopped on the bus. The group beside me gathered around while one of the boys rolled a joint on his lap and lit up. Not the first time I’ve seen this happen on the LTC. The girls behind me featured an inconsolable woman who “didn’t want to leave the party but YOU MADE ME!”.

The highlight of the bus ride, however, was certainly the group of no-more-than 15-year-olds, all smashed beyond belief, drinking bottles of Bud Light… with their friend’s young cousin in tow. When I say “young”, he was somewhere around the age of 10 – and completely drunk along with the rest. I wasn’t entirely convinced he wasn’t acting it, until he ran down the length of the bus, sat down in the newly-free seat beside me (crashing into me in the process), looked at me with bloodshot eyes and declared “Sorry, I’ve got a buzz goin’ on”. He reeked of alcohol.

(Yes, 8 was an exaggeration. If you’re under the age of 12, you’re 8. But realistically, he was likely a little closer to 10.)

After a head-ache inducing half hour bus ride, we reached downtown. Everyone hopped off the bus at a red light at Richmond and Central, and proceeded to flood across the street, corner to opposite corner, with no regard for traffic. I’d rather not spend my NYE splattered on the front of a bus, and waited the extra 6 seconds for the light to change. Close call for some.

Shortly after I passed through the gates at Richmond and Central, I noticed I was being followed by a middle-aged/older man. Not just followed, but followed far too close for comfort. I didn’t think too much of it, but definitely made sure I was holding on to my purse a little more tightly than usual. I sped up a little – and he sped up too. Getting suspicious, I quickly dodged through the crowd – from the left outer edge of the mass, to the right side. At first I thought he was gone, but before long he was right behind me again.

I’m not quite sure where I picked him up as he wasn’t there while I crossed the street, so I can only imagine he was waiting outside the Victoria Park gates. Not wanting to profile, but it seems there was a good chance he was waiting for someone like me – female and alone.

Several more times I made course adjustments and moved to opposite sides of the crowd, just to make sure he was actually following me and it wasn’t just coincidence. Sure enough, every time I moved a few feet to the left or right – there he was.

Still a foot behind me, I sped up, as much as I could in heels, on ice, in a crowd, with the intention of letting him confront me right in front of a cop. For being “patrolled” (link), not a single cop was in sight. I looked around everywhere for an officer, which I expected would be everywhere to keep the peace in such a big crowd. Nowhere to be found. I gained a little ground on the guy with my increased pace, but not more than 5 feet. I’m sure it was obvious to him by my looking back at him and then looking wildly around, scanning for an officer, that I wasn’t going to let this go.

As we reached the back of the crowd a little closer to the bandshell, I gained more ground on him by impolitely elbowing my way through the crowd, until I was forced to stop and just couldn’t get through. He hurried up behind me saying “hey.. HEY!”.  As I started to make my getaway – he grabbed me. The guy full out stopped me from moving. This isn’t the first time I’ve been grabbed on the street, and every time it happens, I don’t know what to do. I sort of go into shock, freeze, and try to run after a few seconds. It’s always an afterthought that I should just punch them as soon as they touch me, but not being the confrontational type, it’s something that doesn’t come to mind until it’s far too late for that. Luckily none of these events have turned into anything other than the person saying a few words to me and letting me go, but it’s always a scary experience, usually followed by a Twitter freakout and calling a friend to come get me.

I turned to take off from the guy, and before I could make it two feet, he grabbed my arm and stopped me again. He pulled me in… and said quietly to me; “Don’t worry about it… don’t worry about it, it’s OK… don’t worry”. I ripped my arm from the guy’s grip and took off full speed into the middle of the crowd, trying not to cry. I looked around desperately for anyone I might know or anyone in uniform but no one. He kept following me.

It’s not easy to hide when you’re 6 feet tall in heels and can’t run, but within a few seconds of weaving my way through the thick of the crowd, still looking for an officer, I finally lost him. Freaking out, alone, I didn’t know what to do. I found my way to a rather densely packed area, looked around to make sure he was gone, and just stayed there. I contemplated calling the cops after being unable to find one, but decided against it. Causing a scene is something I avoid whenever possible. I’ve had experiences with filing police reports before (another story), and it’s not a pleasant event. Besides – where did the guy go? How could I describe him? I didn’t exactly take the time to get a good look at him – all I knew is that he was an older man with a brown coat and a beard – and there were plenty of those around. They were everywhere.

So I did the next best thing, hoping someone could point me to where they might be stationed, and tweeted the classiest plea I could come up with:

No answers; at least not until I was long gone from the park. To those who DID answer – thank you.

I stuck around a few minutes contemplating how I could leave considering I wasn’t interested at all in the show and had no intentions of running into the guy again. Without walking through the dark, sparsely populated Wellington half of the park and not wanting to walk an extra couple kilometers the long way around to Dufferin, the only way was back the way I came. Awesome. What if, after he lost me, he returned to the gates to wait for someone else who looked vulnerable? So regardless of how crazy I must have looked, I literally snuck back to the gates, spinning in all directions, walking as slowly as possible, looking off into the distance. He was nowhere to be found and I made it back to Richmond without confrontation.

Whizzing around every downtown road – up Central, down Richmond, up Oxford, around the park, were cop cars traveling well above the speed limit, but going nowhere in particular. Patrolling, I can only assume, looking for drunk drivers, drug deals, and fights. I tried to flag a couple down as they crossed Central – no luck. They ignored me. I headed northbound down Richmond. Dozens of cop cars, passing every few seconds, clearly on a predetermined route. I tried to flag another down – again, completely ignored. For the park being “patrolled” and the cops keeping a “close eye” on downtown, they sure were oddly absent in case where they were clearly needed.

What have I learned from all this?

Despite how you’re dressed, where you are, and how many people are around you, these things can happen anywhere. It’s odd how alone you can feel despite being surrounded by thousands of members of your community. I’m also considering carrying Mace again… something I picked up after the first time something like this happened almost 4 years ago.

But how much is too much? Do we have to be worried walking to the grocery store in plain daylight? Should we be scared to walk alone? Is there a threat in every crowd? Is driving everywhere really the way to go? Do we need to carry some sort of weapon to defend ourselves? Despite this happening repeatedly is various areas of the city, several times over 4 years, I still can’t say I ever really feel unsafe in the London. Dozens of late night walks and runs, alone on deserted streets, and I’ve never felt threatened other than when one-off incidents like this happen.

But maybe I’m just being ignorant.

I’ve started the process of cleaning out my apartment of all things unnecessary in preparation for moving in a couple of months. THIS old thing has been sitting around for just about 10 years, unused. Before giving it away, I thought I’d take it for a test drive.

The thing turns on, no problem. Less than a minute to boot up. Did that actually happen in ’95? I seem to remember much longer waits. Green lights and obnoxiously loud grumbling noises let me know it’s workin’ smooth.

But unfortunately, the desktop is as far as we get. Despite having 3 old mice and a couple ancient keyboards kicking around that I SWORE came with this computer, they just don’t match up. I feel as though i had an adapter and threw it out without realizing what it was for.

Too bad, I’d have loved to see what this old thing still had on it.

I originally answered this question at Mahalo.com in summer of 2009. Edited for grammar, spelling, formatting, and overall readability. 

Answer: I think it’s better to donate time and effort than money, however, not everyone has that time to use. I guess money really is a donation of time too though since you worked for that money. I personally donate to Worldvision. I like it because I can pick out EXACTLY where my money goes to; what it’s buying, and which country. They also offer a breakdown of how much goes to administration, transportation of products, etc, and honestly, it wasn’t much last time I looked.

When I was younger I attended church and youth group regularly. Most of what kept me there was the volunteer work. We would do a lot of nice things for the community, everything from helping seniors with yard work and painting, to volunteering at summer camps, picking up garbage, fixing up public facilities (like parks and arenas), visiting nursing homes, and showing new people around the town (it was a small town). I LOVED doing this… I really felt like I was making myself useful. However, I was not a religious person, and everything we did was “In the name of God” and there was always some sort of “God did this for you” to the people we helped. I don’t necessarily want personal recognition, but that just wasn’t my belief. We didn’t pick up garbage because someone asked God for it, we did it because we wanted to help clean up our community!

I ended up leaving the church when I was 14 or so. I had a job, but I still had some spare time here and there… It’s much more difficult finding volunteer opportunities when it’s not affiliated with the church! I only wanted to do things I felt were making a difference. So for a few years I planned and worked at the Children’s Festival in my hometown. I helped seniors (my grandmother and a couple of her friends) do their shopping. I played piano at my grandmother’s retirement home (I wasn’t very good but everyone always loved it). I also volunteered at the local public school’s library putting away books, reading to kids, checking books in and out. However, I quit that quickly because I realized it wasn’t really HELPING people, it was just giving the paid employees an opportunity to take an extended lunch break. I worked a few concerts (great big sea) but again, thats really not directly helping people, it’s just giving the paid employees a break. I want to do things that people actually need, and will be thankful for!

I would love to get in to volunteering more, but I’m very picky about where I spend my time, and I’m having trouble really figuring out how to do it. I’ve checked kijiji and most of the ads are like, come sell tickets for Harry Potterfest. How is that helping anyone to have a better life? So for now I just donate my money, and I’m thinking about helping out at the OSPCA/Humaine society or visiting at the nearby retirement home or maybe putting up an ad to do some yardwork for seniors. Those things actually benefit someone/something, rather than, y’know, handing out flyers for the new taco stand. An older person might not be able physically to do those things, and not be able to afford to pay someone to do it, and they will really appreciate you helping them out for a couple hours!

But it’s hard to get in to volunteering without religious affiliation!

Think Globally, Act Locally. I have never heard that before. (Note: Of course I have now but this is a few years old).  I agree that you should focus on your own community first, but you can’t ONLY focus on your own community. What about other places where there is no one to do that? I’m sure there is not someone with disposable income in the villages in Africa debating whether or not to provide vaccinations!
Split it up, locally and globally, but look for high-impact volunteering, things that actually have a purpose and someone to benefit from them, not just letting employees slack or letting a company pay one less person!

Here are the last batch of photos I took last weekend at my Parent’s house in Goderich, Ontario. After an impromptu “photowalk”, I caught the photography bug. It didn’t die until I was a few hundred pictures deep. These were the last batch, and though I deleted a TON, I’m pretty satisfied with what I have left.

Via Flickr:
Taken in and around my yard at my parent’s house in my hometown of Goderich, Ontario.

Via Flickr:
These pictures were taken in the towns of Saltford and Benmiller, both a short drive from Goderich, on Thankgiving weekend of 2011.

I traveled to Goderich, Ontario on Thankgiving weekend (Oct 9, 2011) for some turkey dinner and family. Just the past week, the Goderich Opera House was demolished (conveniently just in time for the Out Of The Storm benefit concert), leaving nothing more than a pile of rubble.

Here are a few photos of the wreckage.

Tickets and drink vouchers provided by the JLC (plus one of my own).

Pre-Show

Tiesto is a bit of an idol amongst those I associate with, so on the night of September 17th I certainly wasn’t the only person headed to see the show at the JLC. What better way to prepare then to get everyone together, get dressed up, and head to the show as a group?

Late Saturday afternoon I made a playlist of every Tiesto song I could get my hands on, cranked the volume to the limit, ordered up some pizza, and welcomed some friends over to get psyched. We had a few drinks, donned our brightest neon and craziest tights, and covered ourselves in body paint declaring our love for the world’s greatest DJ. I won’t pretend I didn’t do some Youtube research to find out what appropriate attire for these shows might be. Let me say now that I’m glad I left the high heels at home.

Now this certainly wasn’t my first concert, and as Tiesto is the one show I swore I’d never miss, I knew I’d have to throw myself into the insanity that is the front row of General Admission. C’mon, it’s Tiesto – anything but front row just isn’t good enough. Being at the front, however, means you’re also going to be subjected to your feet constantly being stepped on, being shoved in every direction at the same time as people try to get infront of you, losing anything that isn’t tied down, and temperatures of roughly a thousand and ten degrees. Being the overplanner that I am, all these factors just mean that your concert outfit needs to be carefully planned. You don’t want to have to hold on to anything, so jackets and sweaters are out of the question despite the frigid Canadian September temperatures, and anything like cameras, purses, bags, or souvenirs are nothing but an annoyance. I couldn’t have planned better, wearing simple tights, tank top, and flat (covered-toe) shoes, with only a small wallet for my belongings.

Me (right) and my friend Teri (left) on the bus en route.

In order to secure our front-row spot, we planned to be at the show before the 8pm door time so we didn’t have to fight for placement. Unfortunately after some miscommunication, those plans were dashed  – we weren’t on the bus til well after 8pm and not to the JLC for another half hour. At least we made it, though we missed a fair bit of the first act.
The JLC

We finally arrived at the JLC around 8:45. By that time, the place was already buzzing with fans and excitement. We could hear the sounds of the first act, Dubbs (or was it Zedd? I could have sworn his name was Zedd) coming from the floor, but we had errands to run before we could join the crowds. One of our friends was running late and I had his ticket, but with him outside and us inside, we had to try to co-ordinate getting him in. I spoke with Stephen at Gate 1, who was helpful, and let us pass the ticket across through him when our friend arrived. Next, we headed over to Club Cambria to buy a round of drinks with the vouchers provided by the JLC. Our server, Amber L, was extremely helpful in explaining why we couldn’t order straight shots of liquor, and chatted with us about the JLC Reviewer endeavour after asking how I got the vouchers.

After our rum and cokes we headed onto the floor. Though we were late, through some miracle we managed to make our way right to the front of general admission, just 2 or 3 people from the front. On our way in, after several checks of ID and tickets, we were adorned with gold bracelets, laminated VIP lanyards, and cloth stickers, the purpose of which we never did discover (it spent the concert in my wallet instead).

VIP sticker and lanyard

The first act was great. Zedd, or Dubbs (whoever he was) put on a great show, with excellent music and stage presence. His act was accompanied on the big screen by a Twitter Feed of all those tweets tagged “#collegeinvasiontour”. Everyone loves to see their face on the big screen, and I found even myself tweeting outrageous things just to get a reaction from the crowd. That’s dangerous, that is. Not everything I tweeted came across the big screen, so I can only assume someone was monitoring what was shown – probably for the best.

A really good example of my questionable tweeting.

After a series of killer tuned from the first act, Porter Robinson was up. Though not an avid follower of Porter, I was familiar with his name as he’s often spoted on the “Most Popular” section of Soundcloud.com, and also opened for Skrillex at the London Music Hall earlier this summer. This is a guy who’s ROCKETING up the charts, considering he’s toured with both Skrillex and now Tiesto, he’s certainly an act to watch out for. A fair bit of the music he played was well-known remixes, which, when mixed with his original hits, made for something everyone could enjoy. I’ll certainly be checking out more of his music in the future. And, (slight fan-girl moment), he’s not exactly the ugliest guy out there either.

Porter Robinson On Stage

Tiesto

Finally, around 11pm, it was time; Tiesto was preparing to take the stage. Stage techs could be seen running around to adjust equipment for the God of house music, while Kaleidoscope from Tiesto’s fourth album of the same name began to play. This was accompanied by a video on the big screen. For the first several minutes, the crowd went insane, though Tiesto was yet enter the booth. Suspense grew as the song continued but the booth remained, dark. Suddenly, there he was, the man himself, Tiesto. I, along with a good number of other people in the crowd, managed to capture an amazing video of the event, in which I can be heard screaming “OH MY GOD, TERI, IT’S TEISTO, TERI, IT’S TIESTO, OH MY GOD” and other various nonsense. You wait so long for a moment like that, and when it finally happens you’re really not sure what to do with yourself. The whole thing was so surreal, as I’d dreamed of seeing Tiesto for the last several years, but never thought it would happen, especially not with the opportunity to be so close. I didn’t know what to do with myself, I was so hyper, and ended up more or less going crazy with the rest of the crowd.

If you’ve ever heard Tiesto’s music from CD without seeing him live, let me tell you, they’re two entirely different things. They’re nowhere near the same calibre, heck, I wouldn’t even class them together. Tiesto’s music on CD is great, but it has moments that are far more mellow, laid back, and relaxing despite the electonic beats. Live, Tiesto’s music is full of non-stop energy, and even his slowest songs are transformed into the most energetic mixes you’ve ever heard. You just can’t compare the two. If you’re not a fan of Tiesto’s recorded music…. you just can’t judge it until you hear it live.

I'm in there, somewhere. Photocredit: TimFelsky.com

Being in the front of the General Admission section was insane. Everyone was going crazy. We were mere feet away from the stage. While it’s something you can’t go to a concert without experiencing, it’s exhausting. You’re constantly fighting to keep your spot, not lose anything in the bustle of the crowd, but still get the most of your the music. Shortly after midnight, all of us were exhausted, and we retreated off the floor for a breather. Soon enough, however, all of us were ready to head back in, though this time we hit the VIP section. Set farther back and up to the side, it’s certainly not the front row, but if anything it was more enjoyable. Though we weren’t so close, we also weren’t fighting to keep our spots, so our attention could be focused on enjoying the music rather than the crowd around us.

The view from VIP

There are so many word I could use to describe the show that I don’t even know where to start. It was epic. Insane. Awesome. Incredible. Absolutely unbelievable. It was so surreal, I could hardly believe I was there.

It certainly appeared that the show wasn’t sold out, with a good number of seats in the stands empty, but the energy in the crowd was so high, it wouldn’t have mattered if the crowd was one hundred or one hundred thousand.

Every song was so intense, there was non stop movement. Before the night was over, every inch of my  body was sore. The next morning wasn’t exactly pretty for my exhausted muscles.

While nothing matches the pure energy and excitement of seeing your favourite artist live, there is one thing to be said for knowing too well the music they’re playing; you pick up on every single mistake. Tiesto made very few of these, despite the high level of skill required for live mixing, but I did pick up on one in particular. At one point, during a transition from one song to another, the beat was off. I noticed it immediately. I looked up and could TELL Tiesto had made a mistake. He shook his heads, put his headphones on, and made an adjustment. After another quick listen, he repeated the action. Finally, he was happy, and the beats lined up perfectly, as they should. I turned to my right and asked my friend, another superfan, and she’d picked up on it too, though another member of our group didn’t have the slightest inclination that he’d made a mistake. If you know the music too well, you’re going to pick up the slightest imperfection. Now, I’m not saying this is a bad thing at all, in fact, it was interesting to see that he was capable of messing up, and his skill level allowed his to made a sensitive adjustment in barely a split second. I guess musical Gods are humans too, afterall, and it shows that there is something required to play a live show like that – it isn’t just a recording.

By the end of the show, we were all thoroughly exhausted and completely satisfied with the show. “That was AMAZING” was a line exchanged more than once between us. Though we were tired and ready to collapse, two hours didn’t feel long enough. We’re all ready to see another show of that caliber as soon as possible.

I honestly doubt any show will live up to that performance – I really do. Between the venue – small enough to be “intimate” (as intimate as you can get with something like that), but large enough to be a party, amazing sounds, the of course, the artist – I just don’t think it can be matched.

Tiesto and JLC – you’ve forever ruined me for other live music, and for that, I thank you.

For those of you not aware, I grew up in the town of Goderich, Ontario. On the afternoon of August 21, 2011, an F3 tornado touched down and ripped right through the center of town. Most of my family still lives in Goderich, though thankfully my parents lost nothing more than a few flowers. My grandparents lost their truck and suffered some damage to their property but they were fine as well.

I returned to Goderich the day after the torndo to check out the damage. It was an important step for me, as the images online were heartbreaking. I felt much better once I’d taken a walk around town myself and saw everyone working together to clean up, though the hardest-hit areas were restricted and I didn’t get to see them with my own eyes at the worst.

This past week, I headed home yet again, just one month after the tornado. While I was there, I took the opportunity to shoot some videos and tour the areas that were previously restricted. Although a massive amount of cleanup as been completed, you can still see the effects of the storm everywhere. Boarded up windows, toppled trees, broken sidewalks, and even some houses ready to collapse that haven’t yet been torn down.

In the worst hit areas, even a month later, restoration and construction crews were at almost every house replacing walls, windows, and carpets that had been destroyed.

Due to my inexperience shooting film on a phone, they’re in the wrong format (widescreen but – vertical) and a little shaky, but hopefully you can take something from these none the less.

Enjoy!

Marilyn Monroe was born June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles California. On August 5, 1962, at the age of 36, she was found dead in her home by her housekeeper(which also lived at the location). The Los Angeles Coroners department ruled the death a “probable suicide”, due to “acute barbiturate poisoning”.  The general belief is that Monroe died from a barbiturate enema overdose – however, the exact reason or cause for this overdose is unknown. First we will discuss the “normal” possibilities, then examine the “conspiracy” theories.

Suicide by drug overdose is the most widely accepted explanation for Monroe’s death. To be specific; “acute barbiturate poisoning”. Barbiturates are commonly known as sedatives, or sleep aides.  Apparently, Monroe had attempted suicide 4 times previous to this incident, and was known to have mood swings. The argument against this is that Monroe had been quite happy at the time of her death, with movies and events in the works, and in the near future. It was also rumoured that she was preparing for her re-marriage to Joe DiMaggio, of which she was quite pleased about. Most experts have decided suicide was not a possibility due the amount of drugs involved and her mood and life at the time.

Another theory behind Monroe’s death is that it may have been accidental. It’s possible that the overdose of barbiturates she received was administered in too large of a quantity purely by human error. This dosage would most likely have had to be administered by a person other than Monroe herself, and that person may just not have been careful enough or might not have been aware of some contributing factor. It is suggested that Monroe’s two doctors, Dr. Engelberg and Dr. Greenson simply didn’t communicate properly. As she was being weaned off one medication for another, a miscommunication occurred. It’s possible that both doctors administered medication when only one dose should have been taken, resulting in an overdose or bad reaction. The two medications were not to be taken together. Records are incomplete and no one has owned up to a mistake, so it is quite possible an accidental overdose is responsible.

The idea that Monroe may have been murdered is considered a conspiracy theory. The difference is that suicide and accidents are simply covered up, sometimes elaborately. In this case, a conspiracy means that the death, or especially murder of Monroe was pre-conceived by a person who coul gain in some way from her death.

The most widely accepted murder theory involves Monroe’s alleged affair with either John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, or both. John Kennedy was president at the time and known to cheat on his wife, and his power as president would have given him the advantage to lure Monroe in; Monroe being very famous at the time. Robert was less well known, and did not have similar habits, so it is unknown if there would have been a reason for him to get together with Monroe. There are people that even claim they have proof to either of these affairs. Some say that Monroe had a desire to become first lady. Because she was so well known, it was hard for her to remain unseen around either brother. A nobody would have had a much easier time remaining anonymous. With either brother ready for presidency, it would ruin their credibility to be seen in an affair so early on in their careers.

Some sources say that due to the star’s closeness with either brother, she learned a lot of valuable and secret information. She was very upset over the end of her relationship with JFK that she may have used this information as blackmail – as in “Marry me or I’ll tell everyone”. Of course, this is not known, and only speculated. It is said that JFK also asked RFK to deliver a rejection letter, not wanting to face Monroe himself.

It is through that because of this, Monroe could have been killed by either Robert, or someone sent by the Kennedy’s, especially if the message was delivered on the night of her death, which is what is said to have happened. Many suggest the Mafia was employed.  The brothers would have more than enough power to cover up the paper trail behind the affair(s).

In my opinion, the idea that Monroe was killed is far too risky. If the Kennedy’s were that worried about their careers and what may have happened, surely they would have considered what could happen if it was found they committed murder. Those thoughts simply must have outweighed the possibility that their affairs could have been discovered, even with all the known affairs of past presidents.

I’m undecided on whether suicide or accidents are more likely. Given what I’ve read, there isn’t much reason at the time for Monroe to off herself. However, given what we know; she had mood swings and had past attempts, it is fairly reasonable. Though she may have shown to be happy on the outside, she may have been very upset emotionally and just did a good job of covering it up. She was an actress, after all. It’s possible that although she was about to re-marry, it may have not been a good thing to her, even if we are lead to believe otherwise. Though it is unlikely she could have administered the medication herself, it’s still possible there is more that was never publically released. I think Monroe was unstable, and was likely to turn at any moment, giving her the ability. However, just because she had the ability, does not mean she had the drive or the reason to do it at that time.

The case of an accident seems quite convincing to me. I would think that when stars are treated, medical records would be kept very carefully for this exact reason. However, 1962 was a different time. Two doctors who did not communicate, with opposing views and undocumented treatment; it would be more than easy to give accidental double dosages. With Monroe’s busy schedule, she’d be much too preoccupied to be considered with such details of how much medicine she was getting and when as opposed to what her actual treatment plan was. In today’s age, records are kept much more meticulously, especially with a case like this, but in ’62, it just wasn’t the same.

Finally, i Do think that either suicide or accident were likely, but I’m undecided on which. I think her murder by a Kennedy was very unlikely, though it is quite possible there is more information we don’t know, and more that will never be known.

Limited Sources:

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/celebrity/marilyn_monroe/9.html

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/barbiturate_abuse/article_em.htm

http://marilynmonroepages.com/howshedied.html

http://www.coverups.com/monroe/day.htm

http://www.coverups.com/monroe/day.htm

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/marilyn-monroe-final-years7.htm

One of the biggest questions is whether the good of these vaccines does really outweighs the bad. Every drug, vaccine, pill and treatment comes with a whole host of side effects. They can cause anything from rashes, headaches, blindness, paralysis, to kidney failure, or even death. Those that approve these vaccines tend to look at the overall picture; if more people are saved from the disease than the people that are injured or die from the vaccine, it is good. Vaccines are tested before they are put on the market. In cases where officials have been asked their opinion on the terrors or the side effects, common replies are that they weren’t aware, didn’t have proof, or that they knew, and did in fact alert others.

Testing practices vary by the drug. Vaccines in the making for certain diseases have been developed and tested over many years, often being scrapped and re-engineered many times. They may be dropped because they are not effective enough, or because of their side effects. Many times we hear about a “potential” cure for AIDS, Cancer, or other currently incurable diseases, only to have news of it fade away when they learn it is not as effective as once believed, or it is scrapped and reengineered because it can’t get approved.

In other cases, such as the most recent outbreak of swine flu, a vaccine is engineered, manufactured, and tested in a matter of weeks or months. How can this happen? Other vaccines are tested for many months or years before they are released. Sure, vaccines for seasonal influenza, a similar sickness, exist. It has been tested and proven to be reasonably safe and effective, even years later. There are some long term side effects, but nothing extremely worrisome to the average person has been discovered. People still have their doubts and scepticism, but there is no solid proof of any big life-altering risk, which is acceptable to most people. Each year, there is a variation in the strain of seasonal influenza, and the tested and tried vaccine is altered in a way as to protect from the new strain. This alteration can be done quickly to prepare for the newest strain of the flu.

The worrying part is that influenza and swine influenza are two different sicknesses. Though they go by the same names, and exhibit similar symptoms, they are not the same thing. A vaccine for swine flu would have had to be newly engineered or greatly revised from the existing flu vaccine to be effective. Considering this, we must remember that it was out in a matter of weeks. This certainly wasn’t time to allow for adequate testing of short term side effects, and we simply have no idea what the long term side effects may be. Was this vaccine even tested on real people, or was it only tested on lab rats and such? This information just isn’t available. We are just expected to trust that the vaccine works, and is safe, both short term and long term.

In 1976 there was a similar outbreak of swine flu, though it was contained to a very localized area.  Similar to current day actions, a vaccine was quickly engineered, mass produced, and given to many people, both inside and outside the affected area. With limited testing, the results were deadly. Only one person died from the flu itself, but at least 25 people died from the vaccine, and hundreds of people claimed damages or even death from the vaccine. There is argument whether officials who approved and even recommended the vaccine were aware of the side effects at the time. They may have been unaware that the swine flu was as mild as it was and treatment was unnecessary, or maybe they were fully aware of the side effects. It is also possibly that is was a conspiracy to make money.

Today’s outbreak is the same. It’s not even as deadly as regular flu, but the government and news strike fear into people and everyone rushes to get their mass produced and speedily engineered vaccines.

Aside from safety after testing and fear of a wider outbreak, what may cause various agencies to recommend injections to the public? Especially when bad side effects have been proven? As with many other concerns, some expect money is involved.  It is not unusual that the people that approve or reject vaccines, and make suggestions on what drugs should be used, own stock in the companies that manufacture the vaccines. After all, it is their line of interest and often their lives work in the drug industry. This could be viewed as a conflict of interest, as these people don’t really care about a person’s health, but rather care about the money that can be made by selling the vaccines and suggesting that it is necessary. One article states that 3 of the 5 FDA advisors had these sorts of interest conflicts. By ignoring the safety of the public, the shareholders can make an amazing amount of profit. By simply avoiding the vaccines themselves, they can stay safe and get what matters to them; the money.

            In my opinion, there is definitely a conflict of interest, though maybe not with everyone. Some officials may be genuinely interested in the health of the public, and make even recommend against the vaccine when the side effects call for it. It may be true when they recommend a vaccine and were unaware of the side effects. However, just as with all big business, it’s about the money. It’s not about the greater benefit as to the health of the public is, but to which scenario will bring in the most cash. These people can be ruthless to get where they are; that’s just how big business works. If you’re not willing to work to your advantage and overtake the weak, you’ll never get anywhere. It’s unfortunate, but it’s business. Again, not everyone, but enough to control the greater majority.

I personally avoid unnecessary vaccines. After a pertussis booster shot at the age of 5, I got pertussis from the shot and was in the hospital for several days. When it came time for booster shots again at the age of 15, I initially denied the pertussis shot, but was forced to either take it or not be allowed in school. It’s unfortunate we have to deal with these things.

Some vaccines are OK, but they must be thoroughly tested for quite some time before they are released, and we should be made quite aware of any side effects, and given the choice to deny them without consequence.