Rik Leaf's Blog, page 17

Flat Roof Manor Malbec

Malbec

 

Most Canadian’s are used to drinking Malbec from Argentina, myself included. So I was interested to see how the style of South African winemaker, Estelle Lourens would be similar or different.

I discovered Flat Roof Manor to be a great inexpensive Malbec that has really well balanced fruit, tannins and alcohol.

The aromas are a subtle mix of black fruit, red cherries, plums and cloves with a hint of smokiness.  This is a dry wine, with fairly high tannins and a smooth medium body. At 14% it falls into the ‘high alcohol’ category, but doesn’t have any of the burn that can be associated with high alcohol wines.

It has all the flavours you’d expect, red and black fruit, plum, cassis, black currant leaf and oak.  I caught a bit of pepper, vanilla maybe even some sour cherry on the finish.

At $12-13 a bottle, you’re getting a great Malbec at an amazing price. The only thing you really need to do, is just make enough time in your schedule so you can appreciate the artistry of this South African wine. Estelle Louren’s winemaking motto is “happiness rubs off” so you can see if you can pick that up on your palette as well!

 

 Rik Leaf is a master storyteller and sommelier with a lifelong love of everything to do with fascinating stories and fantastic wines.

40 Below

Here’s a fun and defiant little tune to play now that Old Man Winter is bringing his A Game!

CLICK HERE to download 40 Below.

2013 Top 5 Take Aways

Old dogs CAN learn new tricks

 

Upon shallow and sarcastic reflection, I offer my top 5, take-away lessons from 2013.

1) Edward Snowden. My take away from The Great Snowden-Gate of 2013…when it comes to divulging any personal information, why give away for free what government’s are willing to break dozens of international laws for. Make them work for it. Maybe if enough of our government agencies are committed to spying on us, they’ll be too preoccupied to continue raping and pillaging the environment at the current break neck pace. And hey, what’s good for Mother Earth is good for us all. So stop making it so frigging easy for them.

2) Mark Zuckerman. My take away from World War Z…uckerman. Privacy is on the ropes. It’s obvious to me now after 2o13, if you want people to give up their innermost thoughts, hopes, dreams and virtually any and every piece of marketable or intimate data…just make it a game, and they will tell you everything. 2013 once again proved Z and Team Facebook, are smarter and infinitely more dangerous than the NSA.

3) Miley Cyrus. My take away was, The Tongue is Mightier Than the Twerk. I gained a lot more than a grudging respect for the length and breadth of Miley’s tongue. In a slumping economy and a stagnant music industry, the reach of Miley’s tongue far exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations, making her accompanying twerking and nude wrecking-balling nothing more than icing on the cake. Sticking your tongue out as far as it can go, as often as you can, while wearing the least amount of clothes, (if any at all) was proven to be the single most effective way to secure global domination and brand recognition. I for one am her willing disciple.

4) NC&CN (Nic Cage & Chuck Norris) My take away is that when it comes to building a body of creative work, don’t sweat the small stuff. Like your career, cause you’re not in charge. The world will decide whom it wants to celebrate and how they want to celebrate them.

Chuck Norris…as if you didn’t know

Nic Cage photo bombs Four Homeless Millionaires

 

And if that celebration involves endless jokes at your expense, clever jump cuts in Taylor Swift videos and photo shopping your face, then so be it! The power lies with the people and there is nothing you or anyone can do about it.

5) Falling for A Story Might Kill You. My take away from watching TV this year is you have to be very careful what writers, directors and show runners you give your heart to. Orphan Black, Vikings, Black Mirror and House of Cards all paid off handsomely. While Dexter’s final season was so god-awful and appalling on every level of storytelling, it’s been rumoured to be the real reason the Pope Benedict resigned.

Dexter – Killing The Art of Storytelling

It’s rare that an ending is so bad it makes you regret every single second of every minute you watched to get to that point. So bitter is the aftertaste. So horrific is the memory, it actually swallows everything good, digests it, and leaves it in a steamy pile of filth on the doorstep of your imagination. And while we’re on the subject, Homeland and The Walking Dead…you need to take this seriously.

This year a number of people did say that I can be mean spirited, hurtful and sarcastic…but that’s just their excess ‘water weight’, receding hair line and little man complex talking.

Bring it on 2014…I’m ready for you!

Try Tokaji This Christmas!

Tokaji

If you’re looking for an amazing gift for the wine lover in your life, or would like to take your own Christmas celebrations to a whole new level, let me recommend Tokaji. Tokaji is made primarily from the Furmint grape, which has a high level of acidity that provides a perfect balance to this sweet wine.

It comes from a region in Hungary so highly regarded for this wine that the Hungarian national anthem actually thanks God that, “Tokaj szőlővesszein nektárt csepegtettél”… ‘into the vineyards of Tokaj you dripped sweet nectar’

This is one political endorsement I encourage you to take seriously. ☺

Tokaji

The sweetness of Tokaji aszu wines is indicated in ‘puttonyos’. Three puttonyos indicates the lowest sugar content and thus the least sweet of the aszu wine styles. Each additional puttonyo indicates a sweeter wine. A dry style of Tokaji wine is becoming increasingly popular. The wine will be labeled with the name of the grape variety from which it is made, which most often will be Furmint.

The Tokaji region is located close to Slovakia in an area is protected by the Carpathian Mountains, along the banks of the Bodrog river. Basically the geography creates the ideal environment for botrytis, a beneficial fungus that dehydrates the grape berries on the vine, concentrating their sugars and flavor compounds, leaving a trademark honeysuckle aroma in the wine. A non technical description of the effects of botrytis could include, ‘frigging amazing’ ‘incredibly delicious’ and ‘wow!’

Food pairing can include strong, sharp, blue cheeses where it balances the  richness and saltiness, as well as custards, crepes and desserts containing fruit and caramel.

During one recent tasting, a sommelier turned to me and said, “The only real question is how to make Tokaji a part of every day!” Another commented that his wife commonly refers to Tokaji as ‘sex in a bottle.’ Hopefully this is the type of gift and vibe you’re looking for this holiday. Here in B.C., which is one of the most expensive areas in Canada for buying wine,  a bottle of Tokaji will typically cost around $55.00, and be worth every penny. Enjoy!

 

 Rik Leaf is a master storyteller and sommelier with a lifelong love of everything to do with fascinating stories and fantastic wines.

Canada is Fiction – know the truth

Canada is Fiction

 

Canada is a story. Some think of it as a political thriller, others as a drama or history. The story of Canada most know is actually fiction, and has been from the beginning.

It’s been fiction from the moment the pride of European settlers was spun into the drama of noble men struggling to survive the elements, instead of just the staggering stupidity of a bunch of guys too proud to learn how to live from the people already living here.

Or take John A. MacDonald, the first Prime Minister…cast as a god-like man of vision with a bold dream. A fiction that required a rug big enough to sweep all the bits of being an unapologetic racist and serial alcoholic under. Frankly I think it’s far more compelling to know John A. was famously so hammered in the middle of a political debate he threw up all over the stage. I mean if you’re planning on buying in to a narrative, it’s good to know the whole story.

How a story begins tells us a lot of what we can expect further on. It’s fascinating that Canada’s very first government and Prime Minister were found guilty of corruption and bribery,  brought down by the ‘Pacific Scandal’. That’s how the story starts…good foreshadowing.

And no, to answer the obvious question, I wasn’t taught this in school. And if you grew up in Canada, neither were you, cause we were taught fiction.

What if we connected the dots throughout the story? We could draw a straight line from MacDonald’s Pacific scandal in 1873 to the Liberal’s 2004 sponsorship scandal up to the Conservatives current senate scandal. Seriously, nothing changes but the names of the white guys involved. The changing of the guard is just different guys doing the same thing in the same way.

Once you get started connecting dots, its kind of addictive and immediately puts current events in context. Like drawing a line from ‘Boozy’ John A. MacDonald to Toronto’s ‘Smoking’ Rob Ford. The only thing that really changes are the names of the guys and the drugs.

What was the Pacific Scandal? The railroad was being sold to an unsuspecting population as the wave of the future. The bright shining light that heralded the dawn of a new day that would make their wildest dreams come true. Of course this involved building the railway without any consultation or consideration of the people who already lived in the territory.

CP Fiction

Company President, William Van Horne, famously said the CP Rail was built for one purpose and one purpose only, “to make money for it’s shareholders.” And what better way to make money than to use public taxpayer’s money?

So bribing the PMO was part of the scandal. So if you’d like, just go ahead and draw a line from CP Rail up to the Harper government firing environmental scientists and protection agencies to pave the road to prosperity for the Enbridge and the Keystone pipelines.

Some may be sitting out there wondering, where in the world was the law and order during all this malfeasance, corruption and back room wheeling and dealing? Where were the RCMP? Well..they were exactly where they are right now. On the front lines; the hired muscle paid for by the people, used to protect the interests of the government, who are off in the back room making deals with private industry.

RCMP Protect SWN interests in Elsipogtog

It’s a straight shot to connect the RCMP from Chapter 1 in The Great Fiction, up to the front lines in Elsipogtog, New Brunswick as they protect SWN’s commercial interests. The only thing that’s changed are the names.

Each of us can choose to be a real person in a real story. Or we can choose to remain caricatures in a work of fiction and believe that changing the guard and replacing the Blue Guys with the Orange Guys or the Red Guys is going to change everything. Or anything.

Go ahead…connect the dots. If you connect enough of them a new story begins to emerge. It’s not a pretty story, and the truth doesn’t roll off the tongue in a very flattering way. But a true story is a better story. Because the truth can set us free from the bigotry and racism run amok in the fictitious legacy we have inherited. A true story is capable of far more than a fiction lurking in the shadows that only takes shape in the smoke and mirrors.

 

Rik Leaf is a professional Producer/Presenter, recording artist, slam poet & published author who spends the majority of his creative time & energy dreaming up ways to inspire people to live awesome lives.

Interested in booking Rik for your Conference/Festival/Event contact,

Ronnie James, Artist Agent

info@justartists.org

Canada is Fiction

Canada is Fiction

 

Canada is a story. Some think of it as a political thriller, others as a drama or history. The story of Canada is fiction, and has been from the beginning.

It’s been fiction from the moment the pride of European settlers was spun into the drama of noble men struggling to survive the elements, instead of just the staggering stupidity of a bunch of guys too proud to learn how to live from the people already living here.

Or John A. MacDonald, the first Prime Minister…cast as a god-like man of vision with a bold dream. A fiction that required a rug big enough to sweep all the bits of being an unapologetic racist and serial alcoholic under. Frankly I think it’s far more compelling to know John A. was famously so hammered in the middle of a political debate he threw up all over the stage. I mean if you’re planning on buying in, good to know the whole story.

How a story begins tells us a lot of what we can expect further on. It’s fascinating that Canada’s very first government and Prime Minister were found guilty of corruption and bribery, as the Pacific scandal brought the house of cards tumbling down. That’s how the story starts.

And no, to answer the obvious question, I wasn’t taught this in school. And if you grew up in Canada, neither were you, cause we were taught fiction.

What if we connected the dots throughout the story? We could draw a straight line from MacDonald’s Pacific scandal to the Liberal’s sponsorship scandal onto the Conservatives current senate scandal. Seriously, nothing changes but the names of the white guys involved. The changing of the guard is just different guys doing the same thing in the same way.

Once you get started connecting dots, its kind of addictive and immediately puts current events in context. Like drawing a line from ‘Boozy’ John A. MacDonald to Toronto’s ‘Smoking’ Rob Ford. The only thing that really changes are the names of the guys and the drugs.

What was the Pacific scandal that brought the first government down? The railroad was being sold as the wave of the future. The bright shining light that heralded the dawn of a new day that would make their wildest dreams come true. And of course they were building the railway without any consultation or consideration of the people who already lived in the territory.

CP Fiction

Company President, William Van Horne, famously said the CP Rail was built for one purpose and one purpose only, “to make money for it’s shareholders.” What better way to make money than to use public taxpayer’s money?

So bribing the PMO was part of the scandal. So if you’d like, just go ahead and draw a line from CP Rail up to the Harper government firing environmental scientists and protection agencies and over to the Enbridge and the Keystone pipelines.

Some may be sitting out there wondering, where in the world was the law and order during all this malfeasance, corruption and back room wheeling and dealing? Where were the RCMP? Well..they were exactly where they are right now. On the front lines; the hired muscle paid for by the people, used to protect the interests of the government, who are off in the back room making deals with private industry.

RCMP Protect SWN interests in Elsipogtog

It’s a straight shot to connect the RCMP from Chapter 1 in The Great Fiction, up to the front lines in Elsipogtog, New Brunswick as they protect SWN’s commercial interests. The only thing that’s changed are the names.

Each of us can choose to be a real person in a real story. Or we can choose to remain caricatures in a work of fiction and believe that changing the guard and replacing the Blue Guys with the Orange Guys or the Red Guys is going to change everything. Or anything.

Go ahead…connect the dots. If you connect enough of them a new story begins to emerge. It’s not a pretty story, and the truth doesn’t roll off the tongue in a very flattering way. But a true story is a better story. Because the truth can set us free from the bigotry and racism run amok in the fictitious legacy we have inherited. A true story is capable of far more than a fiction lurking in the shadows that only takes shape in the smoke and mirrors.

 

Rik Leaf is a professional Producer/Presenter, recording artist, slam poet & published author who spends the majority of his creative time & energy dreaming up ways to inspire people to live awesome lives.

Interested in booking Rik for your Conference/Festival/Event contact,

Ronnie James, Artist Agent

info@justartists.org

Shocking Life Secrets Revealed

 Quit Your Way Where You Want to Go

I’ve quit more things in my life than you’ve started. I know most people wouldn’t brag about that…but I’m not most people.

Quitting

I have literally had more jobs than I can remember and I’ve never been fired. I’d quit before that could ever happen. I walked off a construction site once when I realized I’d definitely compromised the structural integrity of the building. I mean I HAD to quit. Not only was I about to be discovered and summarily fired anyway…I’d made the building super unsafe and it could have come down at any moment!

I hated tree planting so bad, I hid under my tarp until everyone left camp and then hiked into town and took a cab to the airport and flew home. That’s some serious quitting commitment. After making a colossal mess in a fertilizer factory, I barely took the time to turn the forklift off and throw my hard hat in the corner before quitting and running to my car. (before the toxic fumes could overtake me) I’ve quit truck-driving jobs, landscaping jobs, retail sales; I was a beekeeper’s assistant once for 4 hours before quitting.

And relationships…OMG, seriously I can’t even get started on many I quit. I have shelves full of books I’ve quit reading. I quit watching movies and TV shows in the middle all the time. I’ve quit hikes, bike rides and meals, sometimes I’ll even quit talking in the middle of a train of thought. There are mornings I quit half way through getting dressed, and just walk around in my pajamas pants and a shirt and tie. At a track meet in high school right in the middle of the 1500-meter I faked a hamstring injury so I could quit running and just lay down in the infield.

As a lifestyle, quitting has always really worked for me. I never had to put up with annoying bosses, friends, girlfriends, fads or fashions. I was perpetually in the honeymoon state in every area of my life. I’d always be moving into a new apartment, getting to know some awesome new people and be totally enthralled by a sexy new love interest. There were no downsides to quitting. I could smoke, do drugs or start day drinking any time I wanted, cause if it ever became a problem…I’d just quit.

Quitting

But the magic moment was definitely the day I quit giving up. That’s when I realized I had honed my natural god given gift for quitting into an incredible weapon of mass production in my life. Because honestly…there is nothing in my life I haven’t achieved without quitting.

Take chasing the almighty dollar for instance…it was just like a 1500-meter race – I quit. Fitting in and trying to look and feel like everyone else – I quit. Buying into the North American Dream of getting a secure job, buying a house, settling down, smoking a bowl at the end of a hard day, watching some porn, going to bed, getting up in the morning and doing it all over again every day for 30 years. Yeah I totally quit that too.

Oh yeah, and then I quit the whole Dating Thing, you know where you pretend you’re a dynamic individual full of passion, hopes and dreams so someone will fall in love with you. And then you start to take them for granted, and eventually take yourself for granted as you slide down the slippery slope into a semi conscious, medicated state of self denial. Yeah, I quit that too.

From my extensive experience with the benefits of quitting, I have put together a simple 5 Step Plan for Quitting Your Way To An Amazing Life I’d like to share with you.

1)    Quit Believing Anything The Media Tells You Is In Your Best Interest

2)    Quit Acting Surprised When S#% Hits The Fan…It’s Called ‘Life’

3)    Quit Living The Same Way Every Day And Expecting Things To Change

4)    Quit Being So Successful At Being Like Everyone Around You

5)    Quit Your Habit Of Giving Up Before You Even Begin

Quitting has changed my life…and I believe it will do the same for you!

 

The Good, Bad, Fake & True

 

A Host of Entertaining Ideas

ENTERTAINING IDEAS PODCAST CLICK HERE

Social Media is a platform of connectivity that has done more to undermine communication than any other construction since the Tower of Babel.

It’s a world where we are profoundly connected, but rarely, if ever actually have an actual conversation.

You are in a moment somewhere, having whatever kind of day you’re having, with whomever you happen to be with.

Then you check Facebook.

It’s all snippets and sound bytes, links, rants and comments.

The late night comedy network link is funny.

The sensational racist story…rage inducing.

The asinine politician – exasperating.

20 seconds ago you were in a good mood but suddenly you’re mad as hell.

Then there’s your one over sharing friend, whose complete disregard for boundaries makes you feel uncomfortable just reading their post in private.

Another friend’s masterful presentation of a fully fabricated life leaves you feel like loser living your all-to-real life.

The common thread unraveling through all the good, bad, fake and true is that there is no context for any of it. Nothing is organic, just coming up as a natural part of your day and the moment you’re in, your stage of life or state of mind.

Every thought and idea is just a random, disconnected piece of data that you consider in the most cursory, superficial way possible.

LIKE. SHARE. COMMENT.

But it affects you. So you try to process joy, fear, depression, compassion and rage in under 30 seconds with nothing but the click of a mouse.

You lash out. Sling some shit. Accuse. Deride. Gush and fawn.

Then you close it down. Get back to the moment you’re in.

Abandoning your emotional words, accusations and comments to create a life of their own.

Your racial slurs and insensitive pronouncements are still out there, living in your name. Representing your contribution to the conversation you’re not really having with anyone.

Be careful who you let into your life

Sometimes the ones with wise sounding words are the greatest fools

And bowed heads and downcast eyes hide hearts filled with bitterness and pride

Professions of love are followed by acts of abuse or neglect

So you need to remember not to forget

To be careful who you let into your life

 

 The Other

The Other

 

A lot of people look at life through an, ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ lens. For these people, the first and most important step is determining who are the good guys, (that would be Us) and who are the bad guys, (that would be Them)

Over the years I’ve discovered this is why I never really felt like I fit anywhere…cause I felt like I fit everywhere.

This way of looking at the world transcends every political distinction, religious conviction and sexual orientation. The Right do it, the Left do it, Christians do it, the LGTB do, so do Muslims, Eastern mystics and hedonists…everyone does it.

 

I grew up in a small conservative prairie town that was kind of like a hydroponic grow op for the Religious Right. Religion has spawned more ‘Us’s’ & ‘Them’s’ than you could swing a scepter of frankincense at. Eastern Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, Calvinists, Anabaptists, Brethren, Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, United, Presbyterians. Wikipedia says there are 41,000 Christian denominations, which is fascinating when you know that these 41,000 different beliefs come from people reading the same book.

Of course a country like Canada has a history steeped in this sort of thing. We’ve been fed a steady diet of Anglophones vs. Francophones, British vs. French, Immigrants vs. Indigenous, Protestant vs. Catholic and East vs. West since our inception.

Anyway…one day I grew up and ran from the Right and threw my lot in with the Left. Only to find the exact same thing in a diametrically opposed juxtaposition where ‘Us’ was now ‘Them’ and ‘Them’ were now ‘Us.’ But fundamentally…nothing had changed; it was still good guys and bad guys. If this isn’t the problem, it sure isn’t the answer.

A few years later my professional and personal life were entwined with the LGTB community. Oh the sweet naiveté of my youth when I thought gays were immune to this sort of thing! Until I tried to navigate the world of Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Transvestite, Two-Spirit, Pansexual, Polyamorous, Asexual, Omnisexual, and in case by some act of god you still didn’t feel represented there were the catch all categories, Other and Ally. Certainly a far cry from 41,000 distinct sexual orientations…but give it time and who knows!

These experiences can leave you feeling like you’re a first year student at Hogwarts and the Sorting Hat is determining whose side you’re on and where you fit in the grand scheme of the grand scheme. Everything is a fight and everyone’s flailing about and it’s just a matter of time until you hit or get hit.

My whole life I’ve been searching for a different way of looking at the world…one that acknowledges the Other. The Other who believes differently than me. The Other whose sexual identity or culture or experience is different than my own. The Other who holds an integral piece to the puzzle without whom, I can never see the whole picture. When we lose our connection to the Other, we start to fear them and eventually act on those fears. We lose our connection to how closely we’re tied together.

I initially found what I was looking for when Tribe of One grew into a multi-cultural melting pot of inter disciplinary awesomeness and artistry. The First Nations and Métis cultures inherently acknowledge and welcome Other ways of knowing, Other ways of living, Other ways of believing and behaving. Every sacred ceremony, pow wow, rally or feast I’ve been to all start by acknowledging, honoring and welcoming the Other.

To be honest, the part of the Idle No More that’s struck me as most colonial has been the  ‘US’ and ‘Them’ mindset that’s framed the conversations with Colonist, Colonizer, Squatter, Settler, Canadian, Guest, Newcomer and Ally vs. Indigenous, Aboriginal, Indian, Native, Métis, Inuit and First Nations. Let’s face it, the way we describe ourselves usually defines what we believe we are capable of.

When we lose our ability to see and feel our connection to the Other, we become detached and believe their struggle and suffering has nothing to do with ‘US.’ The biggest challenges we face right now are man made; we got ourselves into this mess, we can get ourselves out, but only by all of ‘US’ working together.

Rik Leaf is the Creative Director for Tribe of One, a performance collective featuring English, French, First Nations and Metis musicians, dancers, painters and poets who fuse the rich heritage of indigenous culture with modern forms of artistic expression.

Racism is a High Price to Pay

Racism Ruins Lives

Many non-indigenous Canadians are convinced First Nations communities are living extravagant tax-free lives at their expense. This is a myth deeply rooted in the dominant narrative Canadians have been told and taught from their government, education system and media. Not only is it completely untrue, the facts and figures that sink this ship are readily available. Racism is an extravagant indulgence we simply can’t afford.

For those with an interest in being educated and informed I’m just going to paraphrase a few recent discussions and link to a few articles much better written than anything I could do on the subject.

This is from a recent Media Co-Op article, ‘What if Natives Stop Subsidizing Canada?’

“It’s true that Canada’s federal government controls large portions of the cash flow First Nations depend on. Much of the money used by First Nations to provide services does come from the federal budget. But the accuracy of the myth ends there. On the whole, the money that First Nations receive is a small fraction of the value of the resources, and the government revenue, that comes out of their territories. Let’s look at a few examples.

Overall numbers are difficult to pin down, but consider the following: Canadian governments received $9 billion in taxes and royalties in 2011 from mining companies, which is a tiny portion of overall mining profits; $3.8 billion came from exports of hydroelectricity alone in 2008, and 60 per cent of Canada’s electricity comes from hydroelectric dams; one estimate has tar sands extraction bringing in $1.2 trillion in royalties over 35 years; the forestry industry was worth $38.2 billion in 2006, and contributes billions in royalties and taxes.

By contrast, annual government spending on First Nations is $5.36 billion, which comes to about $7,200 per person. Government spending per resident in Ottawa is around $14,900. By any reasonable measure, it’s clear that First Nations are the ones subsidizing Canada. (These are 2005 figures; the amounts are slightly higher today.)” You can read the full article HERE

Adding to this, Berens River First Nation Chief George Kemp recently said, “Treaties 1-11, clearly state our people are “to count on the benevolence and bounty” of the Crown. If the Crown would share even 1% of the billions upon billions of wealth created for all Canadians since the treaties were signed 140 years ago, the housing crises would be solved. The treaties never gave up the natural resources under ground, only lands to be shared for farming and settlers. So, we are not talking “hand outs” we are talking about we are rightly owed; a share of our own wealth. Then we can solve our own problems!”

There has also been a lot of criticism of Attawapiskat in the media recently, as they repeatedly bandy about a $90 million figure that is supposed to be further proof of the million dollar lives First Nations communities enjoy.

The community of Attawapiskat received $90 million over five years, which equals $18 million per annum. $18 million divided by population of 2,000 equals $9,000 per person. This money is for everything from roads, infrastructure, housing, education and social services. By way of comparison, my home province of Manitoba receives $45,000 per person to operate and provide the same services. Imagine what Manitoba would look like operating on $9000.00 per person. For that matter, imagine what Attawapiskat would like operating on $45,000 per person!

There is one last article by Elyse Bruce, I highly recommend reading regarding the First Nations Trust Fund and the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. It speaks in depth to the allegations that any money paid to First Nations people is charity, concluding, “The next time someone says that First Nations peoples are getting a free ride from taxpayers or that First Nations peoples are mismanaging the money the government gives them, step back and share facts with individuals, corporations and government departments who are riding the slammin’ bandwagon. Education is one of the strongest weapons against ignorance.”

Rik Leaf is a professional Producer/Presenter, recording artist, slam poet & published author who spends the majority of his creative time & energy dreaming up ways to inspire people to live awesome lives.

Interested in booking Rik for your Conference/Festival/Event contact,

JUST Artist Agency Group

info@justartists.org

Quit Your Way to Success

Quitting

 

I’ve quit more things in my life than you’ve started. I know most people wouldn’t brag about that…but I’m not most people.

I have literally had more jobs than I can remember and I’ve never been fired. I’d quit before that could ever happen. I walked off a construction site once when I realized I’d definitely compromised the structural integrity of the building. I mean I HAD to quit. Not only was I about to be discovered and summarily fired anyway…I’d made the building super unsafe and it could have come down at any moment!

I hated tree planting so bad, I hid under my tarp until everyone left camp and then hiked into town and took a cab to the airport and flew home. That’s some serious quitting commitment. After making a colossal mess in a fertilizer factory, I barely took the time to turn the forklift off and throw my hard hat in the corner before quitting and running to my car. (before the toxic fumes could overtake me) I’ve quit truck-driving jobs, landscaping jobs, retail sales; I was a beekeeper’s assistant once for 4 hours before quitting.

And relationships…OMG, seriously I can’t even get started on many I quit. I have shelves full of books I’ve quit reading. I quit watching movies and TV shows in the middle all the time. I’ve quit hikes, bike rides and meals, sometimes I’ll even quit talking in the middle of a train of thought. There are mornings I quit half way through getting dressed, and just walk around in my pajamas pants and a shirt and tie. At a track meet in high school right in the middle of the 1500-meter I faked a hamstring injury so I could quit running and just lay down in the infield.

As a lifestyle, quitting has always really worked for me. I never had to put up with annoying bosses, friends, girlfriends, fads or fashions. I was perpetually in the honeymoon state in every area of my life. I’d always be moving into a new apartment, getting to know some awesome new people and be totally enthralled by a sexy new love interest. There were no downsides to quitting. I could smoke, do drugs or start day drinking any time I wanted, cause if it ever became a problem…I’d just quit.

Quitting

But the magic moment was definitely the day I quit giving up. That’s when I realized I had honed my natural god given gift for quitting into an incredible weapon of mass production in my life. Because honestly…there is nothing in my life I haven’t achieved without quitting.

Take chasing the almighty dollar for instance…it was just like a 1500-meter race – I quit. Fitting in and trying to look and feel like everyone else – I quit. Buying into the North American Dream of getting a secure job, buying a house, settling down, smoking a bowl at the end of a hard day, watching some porn, going to bed, getting up in the morning and doing it all over again every day for 30 years. Yeah I totally quit that too.

Oh yeah, and then I quit the whole Dating Thing, you know where you pretend you’re a dynamic individual full of passion, hopes and dreams so someone will fall in love with you. And then you start to take them for granted, and eventually take yourself for granted as you slide down the slippery slope into a semi conscious, medicated state of self denial. Yeah, I quit that too.

From my extensive experience with the benefits of quitting, I have put together a simple 5 Step Plan for Quitting Your Way To An Amazing Life I’d like to share with you.

1)    Quit Believing Anything The Media Tells You Is In Your Best Interest

2)    Quit Acting Surprised When S#% Hits The Fan…It’s Called ‘Life’

3)    Quit Living The Same Way Every Day And Expecting Things To Change

4)    Quit Being So Successful At Being Like Everyone Around You

5)    Quit Your Habit Of Giving Up Before You Even Begin

Quitting has changed my life…and I believe it will do the same for you!

 

Rik Leaf is a professional Producer/Presenter, recording artist, slam poet & published author who spends the majority of his creative time & energy dreaming up ways to inspire people to live awesome lives.

Interested in booking Rik for your Conference/Festival/Event contact,

Ronnie James, Artist Agent

info@justartists.org

Quit Your Way to an Amazing Life

Quitting

 

I’ve quit more things in my life than you’ve started. I know most people wouldn’t brag about that…but I’m not most people.

I have literally had more jobs than I can remember and I’ve never been fired. I’d quit before that could ever happen. I walked off a construction site once when I realized I’d definitely compromised the structural integrity of the building. I mean I HAD to quit. Not only was I about to be discovered and summarily fired anyway…I’d made the building super unsafe and it could have come down at any moment!

I hated tree planting so bad, I hid under my tarp until everyone left camp and then hiked into town and took a cab to the airport and flew home. That’s some serious quitting commitment. After making a colossal mess in a fertilizer factory, I barely took the time to turn the forklift off and throw my hard hat in the corner before quitting and running to my car. (before the toxic fumes could overtake me) I’ve quit truck-driving jobs, landscaping jobs, retail sales; I was a beekeeper’s assistant once for 4 hours before quitting.

And relationships…OMG, seriously I can’t even get started on many I quit. I have shelves full of books I’ve quit reading. I quit watching movies and TV shows in the middle all the time. I’ve quit hikes, bike rides and meals, sometimes I’ll even quit talking in the middle of a train of thought. There are mornings I quit half way through getting dressed, and just walk around in my pajamas pants and a shirt and tie. At a track meet in high school right in the middle of the 1500-meter I faked a hamstring injury so I could quit running and just lay down in the infield.

As a lifestyle, quitting has always really worked for me. I never had to put up with annoying bosses, friends, girlfriends, fads or fashions. I was perpetually in the honeymoon state in every area of my life. I’d always be moving into a new apartment, getting to know some awesome new people and be totally enthralled by a sexy new love interest. There were no downsides to quitting. I could smoke, do drugs or start day drinking any time I wanted, cause if it ever became a problem…I’d just quit.

Quitting

But the magic moment was definitely the day I quit giving up. That’s when I realized I had honed my natural god given gift for quitting into an incredible weapon of mass production in my life. Because honestly…there is nothing in my life I haven’t achieved without quitting.

Take chasing the almighty dollar for instance…it was just like a 1500-meter race – I quit. Fitting in and trying to look and feel like everyone else – I quit. Buying into the North American Dream of getting a secure job, buying a house, settling down, smoking a bowl at the end of a hard day, watching some porn, going to bed, getting up in the morning and doing it all over again every day for 30 years. Yeah I totally quit that too.

Oh yeah, and then I quit the whole Dating Thing, you know where you pretend you’re a dynamic individual full of passion, hopes and dreams so someone will fall in love with you. And then you start to take them for granted, and eventually take yourself for granted as you slide down the slippery slope into a semi conscious, medicated state of self denial. Yeah, I quit that too.

From my extensive experience with the benefits of quitting, I have put together a simple 5 Step Plan for Quitting Your Way To An Amazing Life I’d like to share with you.

1)    Quit Believing Anything The Media Tells You Is In Your Best Interest

2)    Quit Acting Surprised When S#% Hits The Fan…It’s Called ‘Life’

3)    Quit Living The Same Way Every Day And Expecting Things To Change

4)    Quit Being So Successful At Being Like Everyone Around You

5)    Quit Your Habit Of Giving Up Before You Even Begin

Quitting has changed my life…and I believe it will do the same for you!

 

Rik Leaf is a professional Producer/Presenter, recording artist, slam poet & published author who spends the majority of his creative time & energy dreaming up ways to inspire people to live awesome lives.

Interested in booking Rik for your Conference/Festival/Event contact,

Ronnie James, Artist Agent

info@justartists.org

Rik’s World of Wine on Pinterest

Rik’s World of Wine on Pinterest

 

I am just getting my ‘World of Wines’ set up over at Pinterest in an attempt at cataloguing my ongoing discoveries and recommendations. Please feel free to check it out HERE.