Blazing Pine Cone Posts

Sat Sep 30 2023 | "A National Crime" (a balanced look at the residential school systems) | In my novel, Much Ado About Corona, one of the indigenous characters, affectionately called "Granddad" by the people of Moosehead, was abducted as a child by the RCMP and put into the residential school system. Now, at the end of his life, he again finds himself under government "care," locked away in a COVID-restricted nursing home. One of the principle books I used for my research was A National Crime: The Canadian Government and The Residential School System, 1879 to 1986 by John S. Milloy. Considered "One of the 100 most important Canadian books ever written" by the Literary Review of Canada, it provides a surprisingly balanced overview of what took place, without resorting to unsubstantiated hype or otherwise excusing the neglect and abuse many (but not all) of the children suffered. Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. In recognition I posted a three-paragraph review of Milloy's book on BlazingpPineCone.com and GoodReads.com.

Thu Sep 28 2023 | Why you really want to start wearing a blue shirt... | You need to start wearing a blue shirt. It may save your life. And your umbrella. My latest (satirical) article explains why.

Tue Sep 16 2023 | My "Purple Pill" speech from Saturday's Worldwide Freedom Rally in Toronto | Last week, I shared with readers five speeches I wrote for a 45-second spot I had on stage at last Saturday's Worldwide Freedom Rally in Toronto. I asked subscribers to vote on which one they thought was best. Speech #5 received the most votes, with #4 coming in a close second. But... at the last minute, I found out my 45-second spot had been extended to five minutes. So I ended up stitching together four of the speeches, and added a little known story about the famous Milgram obedience experiments. You can watch me (before a massive statue of King Edward VII riding horseback) give my semi-impromptu speech on YouTube (censors willing) or Rumble.

Fri Sep 22 2023 | A natural alternative to puberty blockers that may make your kids taller than you | While giving kids dangerous and untested puberty blocking chemicals should probably be as illegal as paedophilia, we can’t ignore the fact that children, especially in Western nations, are hitting puberty earlier than is natural. Such precocious puberty could be contributing to gender dysphoria (or at least empowering transgender indoctrination programs). In a new and slightly controversial article, I look at two reasons which may be causing this phenomena. I also show how it can be prevented without the use of any drugs. The only side-effect to this approach, that I'm aware of, is your kids might get taller than you (see the opening photo of me and my 16-year-old son). You can read the article here.

Thu Sep 21 2023 | "We're not hurting trans kids, we're just giving them puberty blockers" | Yesterday, one of the counter protesters, at a 1 Million March for Children, told Sarnia News Today: "We are not introducing any harmful things to trans and non-binary kids [by giving them puberty blockers]." Sure, compared to slicing and dicing up their reproductive organs, castrating chemicals that interfere with brain function may seem relatively harmless. Yet even mainstream medicine admits puberty blockers cause low bone density — along with insomnia, fatigue and moodiness (like teenagers need more of that). And animal testing has shown they interfere with brain formation. Beyond the physical harms, a 2017 study in Porto Biomedical Journal questioned the psychological benefits of "[freezing] youngsters in a prolonged childhood, secluding them from certain aspects of reality and isolating them from peer groups." All that said, I do think the trans movement is based on a kernel of truth, that shouldn't be ignored. I'll explain in a controversial article I'm releasing tomorrow.

Wed Sep 20 2023 | Ride Forever: Music video in memory of my late wife | It feels like yesterday, but one year ago today, my wife Nicole passed away. At her memorial service, she asked that we play "Ride Forever" — a song by Paul Gross. Paul Gross is lesser known for his singing and better known for his acting role as a Mountie in the brilliantly written TV series Due South. With permission from Paul Gross, I've created a five-minute music video combining his song with footage from Nicole's fifty-five years on Earth. You can watch Ride Forever on YouTube — a song about transcending our tragically-beautiful mortality.

Tue Sep 19 2023 | Novel banned from British bookstores for mentioning the Bible | American novelist Andrew Klaven wrote a young adult novel that featured a Christian as the hero. The UK publisher asked him to cut out passages which mentioned the Bible. Klaven refused and the largest bookstore chain in England refused to carry the book. "Everything costs something, and there's no shame in counting the cost," Klaven says. "But there is a shame in selling something priceless, because you're afraid.... It's a shame to lose your ability to speak the truth because you're afraid you're going to take a hit." You can hear Klaven's entire talk, Can We Keep Silent in a World Gone Mad?, on YouTube.

Mon Sep 18 2023 | ETs against climate change | People keep asking me if I think COVID mandates are coming back. No, not really. I think the powers-that-ought–not-to-last know too many people (including the police) won't go along with another lockdown. The lack of compliance will just embarrass them. I'm more inclined to think they'll fake an invasion of ETs whem threaten to blow up our planet if we don't all start driving electric cars. If they get James Cameron and Steven Spielberg to produce and direct the propaganda, it might be a lot more entertaining than COVID-19. With all the taxes we pay, they owe us a multi-million dollar Hollywood psy-op.

Wed Sep 16 2023 | Could you help me pick a winning 45-second book pitch? | I've been invited to give a 45-second pitch for my novel, Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, from the stage at a freedom rally in Toronto next Saturday. Forty-five seconds to sell a 150,000-word novel. I've written five pitches. Would you mind listening to each of them and letting me know which one would motivate you to check out the novel? You can hear the audios here.

Thu Sep 15 2023 | "Capitalism is not an economic 'system.'" | In this week's episode of Just Right, host Bob Metz made a point that was a big aha! moment for me: "Capitalism is not an economic 'system.' It is a moral one.... Capitalism is the economic consequence of living in a free society, based on the principle of individualism and a rejection of all forms of coercion...." You can hear the entire episode here.

Wed Sep 14 2023 | Early in the spring of that horrible year, 2041... | I wanted to share with you the opening paragraph of my soon-to-be-released novella, All the Humans Are Sleeping: "Early in the spring of that horrible year, 2041, tens of thousands of red-sided garters emerged from the limestone pits near Narcisse, Manitoba. After two weeks of their polygamous ‘mating ball’ rituals — where one female is surrounded by as many as one hundred males — they dispersed across the Prairies, finding summer homes among the marshes. When autumn came, they slithered back to the warm fissures and crevices of the Narcisse Snake Dens for another cold Canadian winter. Nobody, least of all the garters, knew that that winter would be so dark.” It's taking longer than I expected, but I promise it'll be ready before 2041.

Wed Sep 12 2023 | past Greenpeace president admits climate change is an "invisible story" | On Friday's Iron Will Report, a past Greenpeace president admitted: "...we can't see carbon dioxide and that makes it possible to make up stories about it... the invisible story that it's doing something bad for the climate...." Stories can be dangerous. Handle with discrimination.

Sat Sep 8 2023 | "the highest form of mental mastery" | I just finished reading Sell Like Crazy by Sabri Suby, where he says: "Business is the highest form of mental mastery. The stakes are high and it takes an incredibly high degree of focus, stamina and wherewithal to be successful." A bold claim from a bold book. You can read my short review of Sell Like Crazy on BlazingPineCone.com or GoodReads.com.

Wed Sep 7 2023 | Woman rents theatre to watch Barbie without any unmasked patrons | JP Sears put out a video about a woman who rented a movie theatre so she could watch Barbie without any unmasked patrons about. It's funny, but, really, why laugh and point at the mentally ill? We become what we focus on, after all. World seems woke enough, thank you.

Tue Sep 5 2023 | Making self-doubt work for you | On Saturday, I said how I rewrite my novels fifteen times. Sound absurd? Hey! It works for Dean Koontz... From his FAQ: "I have more self-doubt than any writer I’ve ever known. That is one reason I revise every page to the point of absurdity!"

Sat Sep 2 2023 | Why I'm not a good writer (no, really) | I'm not a good writer. I'm just a persistent re-writer. First draft is a mess. Second draft has hope. 10th draft is a good read. 15th draft is a page-turner ready to rock. Don't over-estimate what you can do in a month, or underestimate what you can do in year (or two).