Woe Canada

Is it just me, or does Canada kind of suck right now?

I just rented Passchendaele (God I love Paul Gross), and I was watching the documentary on the making of the film that's included in the extra features and they were talking about how World War I really brought Canada together. The Canadian Corps was admired by the allies, and feared by the Germans. They talked about how the Germans had a special name for the Canadians, Stormtroopers, and they knew to expect the worst when the Canadians were on the field of battle.

Not that I'm getting all romantic about war. It's awful and horrible, and I'm not sure that I should feel proud about how good this country was at killing other people. But at least it was something.

Lately, I'm not feeling like Canada has much to be proud of anymore. I used to feel that Canada was a great country and I was so lucky to be living here. We were peacekeepers, we were leaders in human rights, we were something that the international community admired and emulated.

I just look at the news now, and I think "What has Canada got to be proud of now?"

Our military is still floundering around in the quagmire of the Middle East, searching for an impossible victory. We seem to be backsliding in the human rights department left, right and centre (think of the shit the RCMP have been up to lately, and their blatant cover-up attempts, think Abousfian Abdelrazik and the government's attempts to weasel out of bringing him, a CANADIAN CITIZEN (brown skin notwithstanding) home, and this lovely bullshit from my home province).

We are one of the most advanced countries in the world, and instead of using our wealth and knowledge to better ourselves and the planet, our government is actively engaged in obstructing the world's efforts to actually do something about climate change.

In short, I feel like lately this country has not shown leadership in a single area. I am so sick of our little government of Bush-wannabes sneaking around trying to see what little acts of sabotage they can get away with before the public finally clues in and kicks their fat asses out of office. How I wish that Michaëlle Jean had had the ovaries to make Stevie boy face the music back in December last year. Though frankly, I'm not entirely confident that Ignatieff and the Libs would do much better. Same shit, different pile.

We've become a nation of apathetic, arrogant ignoramuses, with nothing better to do than sit on our fat asses and watch the latest lobotomizing reality tv shows. I just don't know what it's going to take to shock us out of this.

Dear Mother Nature, WTF?

I'm sitting in front of my computer dressed in my flannel jammy pants and my cosy slippers, sipping a nice cup of hot tea. In June. This weather has been crazy. And although I'm thankful that we didn't get snow here like they did at my parents', the just above freezing temperatures and relentless rain are not much better. Last night, as the temperature in my apartment dipped below 15 degrees, I finally gave in and turned the heat back on. In June.

To cheer everybody up on this most unsunny of Sundays, here's a little Garfunkel and Oates. Enjoy.

Star Trek!

I just got back from watching Star Trek, and it was awesome! Even if you're not a Trekkie, go see it. I took my sister to it, and although I have force-fed a lot of Star Trek over the years to her, she's not even close to being a Trekkie, and she really liked it as well. Aside from a few quibbles (like the George Lucas-esque small, cutesy alien that accompanies Scotty - think Phantom Menace *shudders in revulsion*), it was a fantastic movie. And they totally nailed the characters.

And I'm so, so glad. Because after the last TNG movie, Nemesis, and that absolute travesty of a TV series, Enterprise, the Trek franchise really needed to pull one out. So congrats to J.J. Abrams, you did a fabulous job.

And since we're on the subject of previous Trek incarnations, because of the movie coming out, there's been a lot of Trek talk on Space channel which I have been watching on and off. They showed all the previous movies, and had various discussion panels and documentaries, etc. And they were being quite critical of the previous TV shows, and not just Enterprise, but there were a few shots directed at DS9 and Voyager, mostly based on the fact that they began losing ratings with those series. But I have to defend those two shows.

Personally, I think Deep Space Nine is the best Star Trek series ever made. It was so well-written. I can't even think of another TV show that had such good writing. It was a huge cast, there were about 10 main characters to keep track of, not to mention many recurring guest stars, but the writers managed to keep all the characters engaged in the series, growing and changing. The characters, all of them, evolved over the series in many respects, and there was also a wonderful balance of character-driven and plot-driven episodes, (most episodes were a good mixture of both). And the series managed to have small story arcs, but also one, main, overarching story arc that continued throughout the series. There were elements in the last episode that had their roots way back in the first season. It was so amazing. I've often wondered if they planned it all from the beginning the way the series so neatly came full circle.

On to Voyager, which I will admit, is not even half as good as DS9. But it was still a good show. Good characters, good plotlines (mostly), and although the final episode felt a little tacked on (like they finally realized in the last episode they had to get them home in a hurry, cuz you couldn't end the series with them still lost in space... Geez, they had a whole season to do something about it) it was still good TV. I'd put Voyager only slightly lower quality than TNG.

But, I have to say, any criticism directed at Enterprise is wholly deserved. What a terrible series. And it has absolutely everything to do with the writing. From the beginning they struggled. It was like they didn't know where they wanted it to go, or what kind of series they wanted it to be. Unlike DS9, which as I mentioned found the perfect balance of plot and character, Enterprise teetered between two extremes. There were episodes that were all plot, nothing but explosions and phaser fights, alternated with episodes that focused on one or two characters, where nothing really interesting happened at all, except some awkward scenes where you were supposed to get to know the characters. It was like they just couldn't combine the two. And the plotlines were hit and miss. It was only in Enterprise's last season that they Finally got some good plotlines going, where they finally used the time period in Trek history to their advantage. But then the show got cancelled, and they ended it with THE WORST SERIES FINALE EVER. I won't go into detail here, but that season finale so traumatized me that I can't even watch reruns of Enterprise anymore. All I can say is, shame on those writers, whoever they were. You suck.

So, once again, I am so happy that the new Trek movie rocks. I'm going to see it again, hopefully with my Dad who is part of the reason that I am a Trekkie today. I remember going to see Star Trek 6 with him in the theatre when I was 11.

Ooh yeah, and my sister thinks the actor who played Kirk was really hot, but I personally liked Spock the best. They're all really fantastic.

Easter Break and Bad Book Review

Easter weekend was awesome. It was wonderful to be with *almost* all the reindeer cousins in E-Town again. My thumbs are only just now recovering from multiple rounds of Mario Kart and Rock Band. Good times were had sipping margaritas and wine in the hot tub, there was an extreme amount of shopping done, and I got to have lunch with E-Town native RAL who I hadn't seen for a long time. Needless to say I was extremely disappointed to have to come back home and go to work on Tuesday :(

During the long car ride to and from, I got to do a little recreational reading. I had recently purchased Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez. See it was recommended in January's Cosmo as a good Teen book for adults to check out, sort of in the Twilight/Harry Potter tradition. Well, let me be the first to tell you: Stay far, far away from this book. It really sucked. It was badly written, the plot seemed to jump ahead suddenly in spots, the prose was choppy, etc. Believe me, it's no Harry Potter, and sadly, it's not even as well-written as Twilight. The heroine, who we are told again and again is supposed to be some sort of social outcast, manages to become the girlfriend of the star of the football team, make the cheerleading squad, become best friends with the richest most popular girl in school, and then, with her psychic powers, she squashes the evil vampire lady with a set of bleachers just in time for her to attend the homecoming dance with her football star and become the homecoming queen. Cuz, you know, what else could a girl aspire to? Everything was way too easy. Zero character development. Bleah.

Seriously, what is with all these books with these dumb female protagonists? If you want to read a well-written book with strong women characters, check out anything by Shannon Hale or Tamora Pierce. I also just read Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, and there is no comparison. Unfortunately there is apparently two sequels to Dead is the New Black. I won't be reading them.

PDAs and other annoyances

Well, this has kind of been the week from hell. I went to visit my parents last weekend and then the nasty snow/freezing rain came causing me to miss work on Monday. Even though I waited to drive home until Monday afternoon, there was still about 50 km straight of pure ice covered in snow-drifts. Everyone on the highway was going about 50 kph but the car in front of me still ended up in the ditch. Then on Wednesday I had another altercation with a patron who's been giving me grief. Luckily my boss is backing me up and everyone I've talked to has told me that she's being completely unreasonable, but it is still very, very stressful for me to have such an ongoing antagonistic relationship with someone. Then the Internet was down on Thursday and part of Friday at work, which for me is like having someone blindfold me or tie my hands behind my back. It's very strange how dependent I've become on having immediate access to the internet. I'd think of something to do, and then it was like, "oh crap, I need the internet for that." For example, I wanted to know the definition of a word and found myself typing "define" into google before I remembered: no internet. I sat there frustrated for an entire minute before I realized HELLO, YOU WORK IN A LIBRARY. I then walked ten feet outside my office door to the dictionary in children's reference where I found my answer in about 30 secs... but Google's still faster.

In other news, I'm really, really starting to dislike PDAs. A couple of months ago, I was working the checkout desk (which I only do for one hour every two weeks, so I don't get a lot of practice). This guy comes up (who looks like he's around thirty-something) and he's got a girl with him. He wants to get a new card for his twelve-year-old daughter and to put it in his name because his ex-wife has lost the daughter's first card and is too busy to come down and get her one herself. I get the impression that he isn't too happy with his ex-wife. So I get everything ready, and I pass the new card to the girl who's standing next to him and ask her to sign the card. And the girl looks really confused for a minute and then says, "Oh. No. I'm not his daughter." And she turns to the dad and says, "Ohmigod, she thought I was your daughter!" Oooops. Obviously the girl is not his daughter but his girlfriend. And it's not like she really looked twelve, but she didn't really look old enough to be the girlfriend of a guy who had a twelve-year-old daughter either. Then, as if to make sure I thoroughly understand the nature of their relationship, they immediately start making out in front of me while I finish up with the registration. Ewww. I really, really don't need to see that. Especially in such close proximity. If I ever behave like that with a guy in public, you all have permission to kick my ass.

Du Hast

Okay, here's a fun new meme that I found on Libba Bray's blog.

My Life in Itunes

RULES:

1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.

4. Tag 15 friends

5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.

6. Have Fun!


Here we go...

IF SOMEONE SAYS 'ARE YOU OKAY' YOU SAY?

Runaway Train (Soul Asylum)


HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF

Paralyzer (Finger Eleven)


WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?

My Favourite Mistake (Sheryl Crow) *Sigh*


HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

Cloud #9 (Bryan Adams) So True!


WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?

Time of Your Life (Green Day) Isn't this everyone's life purpose?


WHAT'S YOUR MOTTO?

I'm Walking on Sunshine (Katrina & the Waves)


WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?

Don't Speak (No Doubt)


WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

Green Tinted 60's Mind (Mr. Big)


WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?

Shine (Collective Soul)


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Here Comes the Sun (Beatles)


WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Saving Grace (Tom Petty)


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

Wild Thing (The Troggs) Hee hee!


WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

Intuition (Feist)


WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

Spin the Bottle (Juliana Hatfield)


WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?

Animals (Nickelback)


WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

Kryptonite (Three Doors Down)


WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?

The Score (Sarah Slean)


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Two Princes (Spin Doctors)


WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?

Du Hast (Rammstein)


I'm tagging librarychik and Ash and anyone else who thinks it looks like fun.

Wake Up!

Wake Up, Freak Out - then Get a Grip from Leo Murray on Vimeo.

Come on peeps. We've got to do something about this NOW. Don't let Stephen Harper get away with ignoring this huge problem! Our lives or the lives of our children could be at stake.

Happy Decemberween

Well, winter has kind of got me down. It's been deathly cold here for two weeks straight. So I've decided to make a list of all the things that I like about winter to cheer me up:

1. The snow evens out the speed bumps in my building's parking lot so that you hardly notice it when you drive over them now.
2. Um... Uh... Huh.

It's going to be a long winter.

So it's a good thing that I'm going someplace very warm on Jan. 7th. Ha ha ha. Jealous yet? Oh I pity all you poor things who have to suffer here in the cold while I'm gone. Of course I'm sure it will warm right up as soon as I get on the plane.

In other news, I read the book Feed by M.T. Anderson. It was like, meg sad and I like cried for the last quarter of the book. It's supposed to by all dystopic and shit, you know? But like, really, it's almost too close to reality to be satire. But still it was pretty brag, and I defs recommend it.

That's all for now, so everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Think warm thoughts!

Finally!

I don't know about you, but I've been in a pretty good mood since Friday. Why? Because finally, finally something good is happening in this country's government. Before Friday, I was feeling pretty depressed about the political climate in Canada. Because of our first-past-the-post electoral system and the vote-splitting on the left, I could only see more Conservative minority governments in the future. I thought there was no way out. No way were the NDP and the Liberals ever going to get it together enough to cooperate against the Cons. And even if they did, they still wouldn't have enough seats. Because surely they'd never get the Bloc on board...

But then, a miracle happened. And we have Stephen Harper to thank for it. Wow, never thought I'd be thanking that twit for anything. But because of his complete inability to set aside partisan politics even in the face of the looming economic crisis, the opposition finally got it together.

Now that the conservatives are running scared, they're spouting all sorts of nonsense about the coalition being "a coup" and "undemocratic". Um, excuse me? How about using the economic crisis as an excuse to ram a bunch of partisan legislation down our throats, legislation which would have effectively made it next to impossible for the opposition parties to run a campaign next election. Wow, that's not undemocratic at all, is it? And then we have all the conservatives whining about how the coalition isn't democratic because it wasn't elected. *Sigh* Do we have to go over the numbers again? The Conservatives have a minority government who received less than 40% of the popular vote in the election two months ago. Over 60% of the population of Canada voted for the NDP, the Liberals, the Bloc or the Greens. I even had to sit here and listen to Brad Wall say that no one in Saskatchewan supported the coalition, a statement that echoes Western conservatives everywhere. But I'd just like to point out to Mr. Wall that although Saskatchewan only got one Liberal seat due to our retarded electoral system, 46% of the people of Saskatchewan voted NDP, Liberal or Green. That's not no one. Dumbass.

A coalition government is NOT the end of the world peeps. Don't listen to the Cons running around screaming that the sky is falling. Coalition governments happen in other countries all the time. In countries like New Zealand, where they have a proportional representation system, they usually have minority governments and so almost always end up forming some sort of coalition government. They can work.

And please don't listen to all the fear mongering about the Bloc. Yes, they're a separatist party, but aside from that, they are a left-leaning party that has a lot in common with the NDP. A lot of what the Bloc thinks is good for Quebec is actually good for all of us. I actually kinda like Gilles. His cold blue eyes don't freak me out quite as much as they used to.

At this point, there isn't a lot Harper and the Cons can do except make a lot of noise and hope that the opposition backs down. He will undoubtedly ask the Governor General to prorogue parliament, but I'm really hoping that she will not grant this request. Speaking of undemocratic, a government shouldn't be allowed to avoid defeat simply by dismissing parliament. Write Governor General Michaëlle Jean and tell her how you feel.

And if you've agreed with anything I said in this post, go here and sign the petition. Pass it on!

Quiz Time!

Your result for The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test...

Problem Plays

You scored 53% = Tragic, 45% = Comic, 20% = Romantic, 29% = Historic

You are the "Problem Plays!" The Problem Plays are a group of Shakespeare's plays that cannot be readily identified as either Tragedies or Comedies because they have an equal amount of both. The Problem Plays often present the protagonist with a situation that must be overcome, but after a toilsome journey, the hero almost always comes out on top! Often called "tragicomedies," the Problem Plays contain elements of dark psychological drama, light-hearted comedy, and a bit of romance. This means you are most likely a well-rounded individual with a perfect balance Tragedy, Romance, and Comedy in your life. While you may experience some hard times along the way, odds are you will fight through them and come out on top!

Take The Which Shakespeare Play Are You? Test at HelloQuizzy

Thanks librarychik!

Some Random Stuff

1. Damn you Firefox! My browser crashed no less than 5 times this morning. And at one point I couldn't access my hotmail. WTF? Please, please someone fix these bugs! Otherwise I'm stuck using IE 6! Gah!

2. The staff at Curves is really annoying. And I understand that they're trying to make you feel all warm and fuzzy and part of a community, etc. That's what they get paid for, but seriously, what makes them think that I want to have a conversation about what I did last weekend with a virtual stranger while sweat drips down my face and I'm panting like a dog? Geez. Take a hint and stop pestering me.

3. Have you seen the trailer for the new Star Trek Movie? It looks pretty good, although with something like Star Trek where there's so much history, it gets really tough. You'll never please everyone.

4. I'm having a Teen Twilight Party on Thursday at the library, and so I was compiling a list of vampire read-alikes, and I came across Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It was an adult book, so I thought I should read it first to make sure it was appropriate. I had to subsequently take it off my list as I decided it was too racy to book talk to thirteen-year-olds, but I really, really enjoyed it. The only thing that bugs me, is that the ending leaves sooooo many loose ends. So many, in fact, that you immediately assume there's going to be a sequel. But alas, there is not. At least not yet. Sunshine was first published in 2003, and they are republishing a new edition this year leading some fans to hope that this may be an indication that McKinley is indeed working on a sequel. I hope so, because it would be sooo awesome. I just don't get why she would write these interesting, complex characters and create this cool world and then just... leave it. So much potential. So, with the warning that you will be disappointed with the end, I heartily recommend this book to anyone who is suffering from post-Twilight depression and needs a solid injection of vampire love. Or lust anyway.

And here's a quick tantalizing morsel to whet your appetite:

"Constantine,"I cried, "are you turning me?"

"No," he said. "I would not. And this is not that."

"Then what-"

"Do not talk. Not now. Later. We can talk later."

"But- but- I am so frightened," I pleaded.

In the moonlight I could see his silhouette clearly. He raised his head away from me, arching his neck backward so our bodies remained touching. I saw him rip, quickly, neatly, his upper lip with his lower teeth, his lower lip and tongue with his upper. He bent his head to me again, and when he stopped my mouth with his, his blood ran across my tongue and down my throat.

An Illiterate Society cannot be a Democracy

An interesting article that I came across via Mike.

The article talks about how fucked up America is, and how most people are so illiterate they are incapable of critical thinking. Specifically, the article discusses this in relation to the recent election.

Political propaganda now masquerades as ideology. Political campaigns have become an experience. They do not require cognitive or self-critical skills. They are designed to ignite pseudo-religious feelings of euphoria, empowerment and collective salvation. Campaigns that succeed are carefully constructed psychological instruments that manipulate fickle public moods, emotions and impulses, many of which are subliminal.
...
Political leaders in our post-literate society no longer need to be competent, sincere or honest. They only need to appear to have these qualities. Most of all they need a story, a narrative. The reality of the narrative is irrelevant. It can be completely at odds with the facts.

The article is American, but I see so much that can apply to our own recent election. How many people actually went on the internet and found out what Stephane Dion's Green Shift was all about? Or did they just let the Conservative propaganda (Stephane Dion is not a leader!) make their decisions for them? And it's not just the Conservative Party. All the parties are guilty of this. Their ads were overwhelmingly negative, attacking the party's leader in personal terms rather than their policies. They attempted to create, as it says above, a narrative about respective party leaders, regardless of whether or not that had any basis in reality.

I don't think we're quite at the level of America yet, but I think we're heading in that direction. It's a really, really, depressing thought.

Okay, okay. I get it.

Here's a dream that I had a couple of nights ago.

I'm walking in a sort of part maze, part garden. The walls of the maze are made of bamboo, and the corridors open up now and then to reveal bonsai and other plants and flowers among bubbling fountains of water. Very zen.

And there is a woman who is walking the maze with me. She's not leading me anywhere, she's just walking with me. Another thing about the maze is that it is vertical as well as horizontal, and we sometimes have to climb bamboo ladders to reach other bamboo platforms higher up.

Often we go through an opening or climb a ladder only to find ourselves back where we started. It is only after we've been through a section several times that I finally see an opening which will allow us to go on to the next section of the maze. The opening has been there all along, but for some reason it was not visible to me the first few times that I passed it.

I have just climbed to the top of one of the bamboo ladders and stepped onto the bamboo platform when there is a sudden rumble, and the entire platform collapses from under me. The other woman and I fall to the ground below, but we are not hurt. The other woman then speaks to me for the first time. She looks at the collapsed platform at our feet and says, "Some things are too broken to be fixed. You can only move on and begin again."

She then moves to stand between two bonsai and is transformed into a stone statue, becoming just another part of the garden. And I am left alone standing on the splintered wreckage of the bamboo platform.

That type of dream is the equivalent of my subconscious hitting me on the head with a very large stick. I'm pretty sure I know what it means with respect to my life.

What would it mean to you?

Election 2008 - You Suck

Well, that was a waste of time and money. And considering the dismal voter turnout, I'm not the only one who thought so.

First of all I would like to congratulate the people who voted conservative in Cypress Hills-Grasslands. You have once again elected a religious nutbag who believes the earth was created 6,000 years ago. That's definitely the person I want representing my interests in Ottawa. You know, someone who can think critically.

I was also extremely disappointed in Palliser riding. In 2006, the combined votes of the NDP and the Liberals were more than the Conservatives, so I was really hoping that people were going to vote strategically, take one for the team, so to speak, as long as it meant keeping Harper out. Alas, it did not work out that way. Geez people. I would've voted Liberal had I been in a riding where the Liberal candidate came in second place in 2006. And I never vote Liberal. Did nobody do their homework?? It takes 30 seconds to look up the results from the last election. Although at least no one in Palliser wasted votes on a non-existent candidate.

I am also very sorry for everyone in Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar who missed out on having Nettie Wiebe as their MP by 253 votes. Both the Green Party and the Liberals in that riding got over 1,000 votes each.

On a positive note, I was extremely pleased to see Rahim Jaffer have his ass handed to him by Linda Duncan in my former riding of Edmonton-Strathcona.

But all in all, it was very disappointing, and very frustrating, especially for those of us with left-leaning tendencies. In fact, it has many people talking about proportional representation.

Let's look at the numbers:

Conservatives: 38% vote share, 46% of seats
Liberals: 26% vote share, 25% of seats
NDP: 18% vote share, 12% of seats
Bloc: 10% vote share, 16% of seats
Green: 7% vote shore, 0 seats

It's easy to see why people are upset. Stephen Harper gets to be our Prime Minister when 62% of Canadians didn't vote for him. Even without the Bloc or the Green Party, the Liberal and NDP vote share is more than the conservative, yet because of our first past the post electoral system, we get a crappy conservative government for the second time in a row.

But, keep in mind that if we did go to proportional representation, majority governments would be a thing of the past. To see a working example of this type of electoral system, check out New Zealand. They adopted a Mixed Member Proportional system in 1993, and their next general election is going to be held next month on November 8th.

In the meantime, I'm hoping that the Bloc, NDP and Liberals can pull themselves together and cooperate enough to keep Harper from passing the worst bits of legislation. And for goodness sake, let's not have another election. For at least a little while, ok?

Sarah Palin = Scary Bananas

I'm sure you've all heard about Sarah Palin, republican John McCain's running mate. But she is so very, very scary, that I just had to put my two cents in. The republicans presumably picked her in the hopes that some of the women who were voting for Clinton would then vote for Palin. That is indicative of an extremely dim view of the intelligence of women. For sure, a woman in the white house would be nice for a change, but to assume that American women will just look at Palin and go, "Oooh. She has ovaries! Just like me! I'll vote for her!" is insulting. It assumes that women don't know or care about the actual issues. Sadly, I'm sure that there really are some women who actually think like this. Let's hope they are few and far between, because Sarah Palin is probably the last person you would want to represent the interests of women.

I have noted with particular interest this little tidbit: "[Sarah Palin] has inquired locally [Wasilla] about the possibility of using her position to ban children's books from the public library". A few months after the incident, the city librarian was also told she was going to be fired, although Palin later relented. Whether or not that had anything to do with the rather dim view the librarian took of Palin's attempted book banning is unclear.

In the end it really doesn't matter whether or not any books were actually banned. The very fact that Palin asked about it shows her true colours.

And the really scary thing is that John McCain is 72 years old and has apparently had 4 bouts of cancer. Should he be elected, it is Sarah Palin who will replace him as President if he dies.

Yes, I know I'm Canadian. And we've got our own upcoming election to worry about (Damn you Stephen Harper!). But we all know how close our own fortunes are tied into those of the United States. And a United States with Sarah Palin at the helm is a very frightening prospect.

Breaking Dawn Review

Avery Cat gives Breaking Dawn 4 out of 5 catnip mousies


I finished Breaking Dawn a couple of days ago, and I enjoyed it. Personally, I think it was the most well-written of the series. Now, I have blogged about the previous three books in the series before, and if you read any of those posts, you'll know that although I voraciously consumed all three books in little over a week, I also concluded that they weren't very well-written. I felt the plot was uneven, with nothing happening in the beginning, and all the action at the end. The character of Bella also really, really annoyed me. She was too passive, always letting things happen to her without taking control of her own life. In fact, I was completely mystified as to what Edward saw in her, because to me, she was flat and lacking personality. She just was. It seemed like she was only defined in her relationship to Edward. I'm a big fan of strong female characters in the books that I read, and Bella just really wasn't cutting it.

Now I'll tell you why Breaking Dawn was better.

Spoiler Alert!
I thought the plot in Breaking Dawn was a lot better balanced. There seemed to be a little more action in the beginning of the book and so it sustained my interest a bit better. And Bella getting pregnant? Well, I wouldn't have predicted that for the last book, although once I started reading I figured it out pretty quickly due to the foreshadowing.

And although I know for a fact there were a lot of people hoping that Bella would get together with Jacob instead, I knew that it was going to be Edward. I mean, they've been together since book one, and they consider each other soul mates. It was a done deal long ago.

And I personally think that the character of Bella improved 100% in this book. Even before she gets her cool vampire powers, she takes a stand on keeping the baby, where before, she pretty much has had to go along with whatever Edward has said.

And I enjoyed the ending a lot. The whole stand-off in the woods was good. And of course, although Meyer has said she's done writing from Bella's perspective, the ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel what with the unresolved confrontation with the Volturi. Perhaps she'll continue the storyline with Jacob and Renesmee as the main characters.

I am also excited about the Twilight movie which is coming in December. Check out the trailer. It looks good, but Bella's voice is somehow wrong to me.

And in other news, I just watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace again last night because it was on TV, and I was just reminded all over again of how horrid parts of that movie were. But it also had some really good parts too. I liked especially all the light saber fights. But if you remember the last fight, after Darth Maul has killed Qui-Gon and then he knocks Obi-Wan off the platform so he's dangling below him. And then Obi-Wan jumps up and does a flip over his head and then slices Darth Maul in half. And it suddenly struck me... is that not exactly what Anakin tries to do in the third movie? So how come Obi-Wan can do it, but when Anakin tries it, he gets sliced in half? Hmmmm?

Harry Potter Obsession

Yay Harry Potter! Check out the trailer for the new movie. It sent chills down my spine. You'd think that maybe a year later my obsession with all things Potter would have faded... but, no.

Harry Potter forever!!!!

Scary, scary, scary

Well, the one good thing about all the annoying security at airports, is that if you end up sitting next to a psychopath on the plane, at least he won't have a large butcher knife hidden on him.


Kind of makes you never want to take public transit again.

Letters

Dear Curves evening-shift girl;

I know that if no one comes in after 7:00 that you can close early at 7:30 pm. I am sorry that I had the nerve to come in at 7:15 and work out for my full half an hour. I am sure you must have been anxious to get home to your leftover pizza and reality tv. But even though I was the only person working out, you are technically supposed to be open until 8:00 pm. Sighing dramatically and looking longingly at the clock will not make me leave any faster. Actually, just for you, I took an extra long time stretching out my hamstrings tonight. And turning off the lights while I was still in the dressing room, well that was just rude. So don't be surprised that I didn't give you my usual cheery post-workout wave. Bitch.


Dear adolescent punk who was walking down ninth tonight;

I'm sure that the two girls you were with thought it was very funny when you pretended to dart out in front of my car, causing me to slam on my brakes. They probably would have been more impressed if I had actually swerved into oncoming traffic and hit another car. So keep practicing. And hopefully someday someone won't be paying attention and you'll become someone's new hood ornament.


Sincerely,
Violette

Kittehs!

Thursday Next Series - Jasper Fforde

First I would like to whine about the fact that I am sick. In July! Goodness knows I get enough colds during the rest of the year, but summer is supposed to be the one season I can count on not to get sick. And I am laying the blame squarely at my sister's feet: K, this is all your fault. Keep you cursed germs to yourself next time.

But I do want to talk about this fabulous new series I'm reading. ypk blogged about it a while ago on Speak Friend, and Enter, but I hadn't gotten around to it. So I finally did, and it's brilliant. It's the kind of novel, that if you're a writer, throws you into the depths of despair, because you know that in a million years you'll never be able to write anything half as good.

The series is a weird kind of melding of science fiction / fantasy / crime novel. The main protagonist is a woman named Thursday Next. She lives in England in the mid-1980s, in a world that is similar to our own, but with a few major differences. For example, the Crimean War is still going on, the Germans actually managed to invade England for a brief time in the Second World War, and Wales is still a separate country from England. Those are just the historical differences though. It gets weirder. The entire country is run by a massive corporation called Goliath, and Thursday Next works as a LiteraTec (Literary Detective) in SpecOps (Special Operations), which is an organization under Goliath that handles investigations that are too much for the regular police force. Among other things, SpecOps is in charge of dispatching vampires, zombies, and other deadly creatures of the night.

In the first book in the series, The Eyre Affair, the original manuscript to Jane Eyre has been stolen, and someone is attempting to alter the manuscript, which would therefore alter all copies of the story for good. Thursday discovers that she has a talent for jumping into books, and so she goes into the story to save it. I actually had to stop in the middle of reading this book and go and read Jane Eyre (which by the way, if you haven't done, do it. It's quite good for one of those 19th century novels), because I was really missing out on all the plot references. Anyway, Thursday discovers that there's a whole other world where the characters from all the novels interact freely. And because of her ability to read herself into books, she gets drafted as a JurisFiction agent, charged with policing the Book World.

Besides being crime thrillers, the books are also very funny. There are numerous allusions to other classic novels (For Example, Miss Havisham from Great Expectations has a penchant for fast cars and often gets together with Mr. Toad from The Wind in the Willows for a race), and the author has a lot of fun with the conventions of plot and grammar, etc. I shall now share a quotation (the same one which ypk originally blogged) which amply demonstrates the sort of clever silliness that I'm talking about. JurisFiction (the organization that polices the Book World) is meeting to discuss several problems on the agenda:

'Good. Item seven. The had had and that that problem. Lady Cavendish, weren't you working on this?'

Lady Cavendish stood up and gathered her thoughts.

'Indeed. The use of had had and that that has to be strictly controlled; they can interrupt the ImaginoTransference quite dramatically, causing readers to go back over the sentence in confusion, something we try to avoid.'

'Go on.'

'It's mostly an unlicensed usage problem. At the last count David Copperfield alone had had had had only thrice. Increased had had usage had had to be overlooked but not if the number exceeds that that that usage.'

'Hmm,' said the Bellman. 'I thought had had had had TGC's approval for use in Dickens? What's the problem?'

'Take the first had had and that that in the book by way of example,' explained Lady Cavendish. 'You would have thought that that first had had had had good occassion to be seen as had, had you not? Had had had approval but had had had not; equally it is true to say that that that that had had approval but that that other that that had not.'

'So the problem with that other that that was that --?

'That that other -other that that had had approval.'

'Okay,' said the Bellman, whose head was in danger of falling apart like a chocolate orange, 'let me get this straight: David Copperfield, unlike Pilgrim's Progress, which had had had, had had had had. Had had had had TGC's approval?'

There was a very long pause.

'Right,' said the Bellman with a sigh. 'That's it for the moment. I'll be giving out assignments in ten minutes. Session's over -- and let's be careful out there.' (p 256-7)

Various

My life has lately been very, very busy, but sadly not very exciting. So here are some reviews of what I've been reading/watching.

Sex and the City
Ummmm. I enjoyed it. But I'm not sure if anyone who hadn't been a follower of the tv series would have. It was pretty much like three or four episodes strung together to make a movie. My favourite part was when a certain character confesses that they've been cheating on another certain character, and the whole audience gasped. Which wouldn't have happened in a regular movie. But because everyone in the theatre was a fan and had been watching and knowing these characters for years, it was like your best friend came up to you and confessed that they'd been cheating. Oh and there were like, four guys in the audience. Including my sister's bf. Hi J!

Bee Movie
Yes it's a kids movie, but I am a Children's Librarian. Not that that's really an excuse. The second most watched channel on my tv is Teletoon. But, anyway, I thought it looked like it could be kind of cute and funny, so I rented it. And after it was over, I just kind of sat staring at the screen going "huh?". It's like, halfway through, the creators just said, "You know what? This movie is not very good, and it's already kind of starting to not make sense. So let's just throw out EVERYTHING we know about plot and character and make the dumbest movie ever. Sound good?" I mean, seriously, the beginning had its moments, but after you get about mid-way through, the whole thing just becomes so random and stupid. You know, just because it's a kids movie shouldn't mean you can just make a steaming pile of crap and get away with it because Jerry Seinfeld will sell it for you. Yuck.

Sweep Series by Cate Tiernan
This is a series about a teen girl who discovers that she's an extremely powerful witch when she joins a Wiccan coven. They're pretty good. Not fabulous, amazing writing, but the plot keeps the pages turning. There's lots of twists and turns, and there are a ton of books in the series. I just finished book 8, and I'm not even sure how many books have been written. They do almost become a bit soap-like though, in that they have to keep changing things around and shocking you to keep you reading, right? So in every book it's like, ohmigod, so that guy, who you thought was bad, is actually good! And that guy you thought was good, is actually bad! And so forth. But they're good for a quick, entertaining read.

Mediator Series by Meg Cabot
This 6-book series is about a girl who can talk to ghosts. And when she moves to California she finds an amazingly sexy boy ghost haunting her bedroom. And it might seem like their relationship can't go anywhere (him being dead and all), but this girl can not only talk to ghosts, she can touch them too, just as if they were real people. So literally kicking ghost butt (or kissing) is not out of the question. Good series. The first three books were okay, and then in the fourth book the plot kicked into high gear. And you know it's got to have a happy ending, but I couldn't figure out HOW she was going to pull it off. So it was pretty good. Again, not especially deep... but who am I kidding? I never read anything deep unless I'm going to have to write an essay on it.

Inkheart
Uh, no. I haven't actually seen this. Because it hasn't been released yet. I just wanted to complain about the fact that it was originally scheduled to be released in March 2008, and I put in my library newsletter that it was going to be released then, and it wasn't, and now it says it's going to be released in January 2009! That's almost a year later! What happened?

And what's up with this cold, rainy weather? I mean, I'm not complaining about the rain, cuz I know the farmers need it (Hi Dad!), but seriously, (if you can believe the weather channel) it's going to be rainy and cold for the next week. This is not nice June weather.

Okay, I'm done bitching. Ciao.

Veronica Mars Rocks

I bought all three seasons of Veronica Mars on DVD exactly one week ago. And I've watched them all. Yes, all three seasons in one week. Needless to say, it's been a week of indulgence. Right now my place looks like a hurricane went through it (Dishes? Laundry? What are those?) and I haven't actually slept in the last 24 hours, but it was worth it. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, please take a look. It's pretty freaking awesome.

For those not in the know, Veronica Mars is kind of like Nancy Drew for the new millennium. The parallels are obvious: teenage girl living with single father attempts to live a normal life while solving mysteries for friends on the side. Veronica and her dad even use the names Carson and Nancy Drew as aliases during an episode (ha ha), but the concept has been updated quite a bit into something much less wholesome than the original Nancy. Unlike Carson Drew, Veronica's father Keith is not a famous, well-to-do lawyer, but a former sheriff turned private detective, who now makes his living taking dirty pictures of cheating spouses and chasing down parole jumpers. Nancy's mother was dead, whereas Veronica's mother just ditched them for reasons that are not entirely clear in the beginning. And while I have always been an admirer of Miss Drew, Veronica basically blows her out of the water, both in sleuthing ability, and personality. Veronica has nerves of steel and she's not satisfied with just catching the crooks, she likes to make them pay. Revenge is a dish best served cold indeed. Not to mention that next to all Veronica's high-tech spy gadgetry, Nancy's trusty old magnifying glass just looks hopelessly inadequate.

The series has, as most of my favourites do, a good balance between "bad guy of the week" episodes and continuing storylines that pop up from time to time. I really think the first season is the best; that storyline is so wickedly convoluted and sordid. But the second and third seasons were also eminently watchable.

It makes me very sad when an awesome show like Veronica Mars gets cancelled after the third season while crap reality shows like American Idol and America's Next Top Model just keep going, and going, and going... Yuck.

And now my thoughts on some characters and how the series ended. Please don't read this if you haven't watched the series. You'll enjoy it more if you don't know what's coming next. Otherwise, feel free to click and drag.

So at the end, Veronica has just gone to vote in the election for sheriff, but considering that her Dad just destroyed some evidence to save Veronica's butt, she may be the only one who voted for him. But in a way, it's a good way to end the show because it's such a good example of how their relationship works. They don't always tell each other everything (and that pisses them both off on occasion), but in the end, they're there for each other, period, no matter what happens. So I think Veronica makes Keith lose the election, and although he would of course make a much better sheriff than his rival, I also got the impression that he was feeling a bit chafed by the official rules and restrictions he was forced to work under. Keith likes being able to just go and do something, never mind the warrant. So I think he would ultimately be okay with not being sheriff anymore.

Some other characters who I loved: Mac, who is awesome, and I'm glad she got to be a recurring character through the whole series. I also liked Eli "Weevil" Navarro, although I thought he lost some of his character's bite in the third season. There was that whole thing where he lied to Veronica about finding that computer that allows you to make fake student ids, suggesting that you can take the boy out of the biker gang, etc. but he just didn't have the same feeling of danger around him. So that's too bad. But he was still a cool character.

Mostly I just want to talk about Logan Echolls, because I love, love, love that character. He's such a bad boy, and yet I wouldn't want Veronica to end up with anyone else. The way the series ended, Veronica was still with Piz, but Logan had broken up with Parker. Then Logan goes up and punches a guy in the food court for harassing Veronica, and you can just see the hint of a smile on her face as she watches him walk away. Cuz, you know, I gotta be honest here. I would consider myself to be a feminist and a believer in the equality of the sexes... and yet there is something incredibly appealing about a boyfriend who would take a baseball bat to a police cruiser just so he could get into the same jail cell as the guys that attempted to rape and kill his girlfriend and then proceed to beat the crap out of them. And how many times does Logan either a) save Veronica's life, or b) beat the snot out of someone for her? The truth is, I think, considering Veronica's line of work, she needs a boyfriend who can handle that. Piz is a really nice guy, and that's the problem. Veronica needs someone who's not going to worry about breaking a few rules, or cracking a few heads when necessary. There's also just so much history between Veronica and Logan. He was there with her, through the whole Lilly Kane thing, through the whole rape thing, and he really understands her, because he's been through the same sort of crap. Although of course, there is the problem that Logan is also very wary about letting himself be open and therefore vulnerable. He has this defensive shell of sarcasm and anger that he keeps wrapped around himself. By season three, it's mostly gone when he's with Veronica, but there are still secrets he keeps, and times when he needs to be alone and away from her. And Veronica, who has had the people she loves keeping secrets from her from day one, just can't handle that. She needs to know, she needs to know now, and she needs to know everything. And that's why they're like the amazing rubber couple: can't stay apart, can't stay together. But, in my mind, (forget that whole Veronica Mars season four first year in FBI crap) they end up together. Cuz I'm a sucker for a happy ending, and those two deserve one.

So just go and watch it already. You won't be sorry.

Books, Books and Facebook

Well, well, it's been awhile, hasn't it? You might wonder what I've been up to.

Well, for starters, I've been doing a lot of reading. I first of all got addicted to the Twilight series of books by Stephenie Meyer. They're a series of three books, with the fourth coming out this August. First of all, I have to say that I enjoyed reading them very much. However, after having read all three of them, I will now say something that may be shocking to fans of the series: Bella Swan is the most whiny, passive, selfish, and boring female protagonist that I have come across in a long time.

But you know I'll still go and buy Breaking Dawn as soon as it's out.

The other series I've been devouring like a woman possessed is the Mélusine series by Sarah Monette. I've only read the first two, but I expect to acquire the third in the series within the week. It's an adult fantasy series about two half-brothers who grow up in very different worlds. Felix is an aristocratic wizard, and his younger brother Mildmay is a cat burglar and assassin-for-hire in the lower city. And there's just something about those characters. They stay with you and you think about them and wonder about them long after the story's over. That may be because they are complex characters; neither one of them is 100% good or bad.

Here's an exchange that Felix has with Astyanax, his jilted ex-lover, shortly after Felix dumps him without warning:

He [Astyanax] stared at me for a moment, vanity and rage and wounded, throbbing, screaming self-love contorting his face. Then he said, feigning disdain, "I hope for your sake he's as good in bed as I am."

I let myself smile, sharp, wicked. "Darling, that wouldn't be hard."

Oh Felix, you nasty boy you.

And Mildmay's favourite expression: "Fuck me sideways 'til I cry."

You see? That's personality. Something Bella Swan just doesn't have.

I would also like, at this point, to proclaim my official hatred of Facebook. I am not on Facebook, nor will I ever be on Facebook. So please, for the love of God, STOP asking me. If someone wants to know what I've been up to, then they can e-mail me and ask. What's that you say? You don't have my e-mail? Well, there's probably a very good reason for that. My feelings about it are pretty much echoed in this elegantly-worded post.

Idiots

So this guy (university age) comes into the library yesterday ten minutes before closing. He walks up to me, as I happened to be out in the stacks, and asks if we had any books about bullying? And so I said, "Children's books?" And he said yes. So I showed him the relevant section in the juvenile non-fiction. And then he said, "No, stories about bullying". So then I said, "Well, that will take a bit longer, let me have a look." Then thank goodness I had the presence of mind to ask him what age range he was looking for. "Oh, Gr. 6 - 12". So not exactly children's books, more like teen books. So I madly typed away and found him a couple of titles, and then dashed off to the stacks with him to find them as it was now about 2 minutes to closing. And then he looks at them and says, "I need one more". And so then I said, "Well, if you come back tomorrow, I'll have more time to look." And then he says, "I can't. My assignment is due tomorrow."

You stupid git. You come into the library, the day before your assignment is due, 10 MINUTES BEFORE CLOSING, and expect miracles. Well, I'm pretty awesome, but not that awesome. What you need is a good smack upside the head. Allow me. *SMACK*

I was also weeding the children's poetry section and came across some poems by Dennis Lee, a rather famous Canadian poet. He's written a lot of cool children's poetry like Alligator Pie, and he also wrote the lyrics for the Fraggle Rock theme song, and was involved in the writing of Labyrinth (which as you know is one of my most favourite movies) so I had a fairly good impression of him. Then I decided to read a few of his poems and found out to my disgust that he was under the impression that "Saskatchewan" rhymed with words like "gone" and "lawn". Which of course it does not. But he is from Ontario. Of course.

So, to all those stupid, misguided dolts in Eastern Canada who NEVER pronounce the name of this province correctly: *SMACK* Say it right! *SMACK*

Ahhhh. That feels better.

The Highs and Lows of Website Design

I know a little something about website design. I'm not an expert, but I can usually manage to create something that, if not fancy, is functional and reasonably attractive. I've been maintaining a few sites for the past couple of years, but it's been a long time since I actually tried my hand at designing from scratch. Lately I've been kind of thinking that maybe I would like to get more into the website design side of things, maybe get some more training and make it more a main part of my career. And then my current job suddenly presented me with an opportunity to start designing a new site. I was really looking forward to it. Until I tried to start. And then I realized that: a) I've forgotten a lot of my CSS, and b) What I do remember may be out-of-date.

So that was depressing. And then tonight I started fiddling with one of my sites and I suddenly remembered something else that I'd forgotten about designing websites: the emotional turmoil. The absolute frustration you feel when something isn't working, and you don't know why. You check and re-check your code until the screen starts to go blurry. And you curse your browsers (all three of them) for their stubborn contrariness. You agonize for hours, and then suddenly you find the problem. A forgotten quotation mark, a stray semi-colon... or maybe, as in my case, Firefox is behaving stupidly. And then everything falls into place. Relief and happiness wash over you as you look at your screen: finally, finally, you have managed to make the menu move 8 pixels to the left.

I'm telling you, it's an emotional roller-coaster. Remind me again why I want to do this more?

Worst Valentine's Day Ever

I have never been overly fond of February 14th, but today may go down in history as the worst Valentine's Day ever. Not only do I not have a hot date, but I'm spending the day huddled on the couch surrounded by Advil, Tylenol, orange juice, and a mountain of used Kleenexes. I've been battling a cold/flu thing since last Thursday, and just yesterday it decided to get really nasty. I've had a temperature of 102 off and on since then, and I've been basically miserable. So if anybody shows any signs of sickness around you, RUN, run as fast as you can as far as you can in the opposite direction, because this is the nastiest flu I've had in years.

I've also been doing some reflecting on Terminator. I mentioned before that I really like the new TV series. But here's the thing. They're not just trying to keep John alive, they're trying to stop Skynet from ever being built. But if they succeed in that, then John's dad Kyle Reese will never have a reason to go back in time to protect his mom, and then John will never be born. He will therefore cease to exist, completely fade out Back-to-the-Future style. So it seems like there can really only be two outcomes: either they succeed in stopping skynet, and John ceases to exist, or they fail, and John lives, but the robots nuke the planet, killing or enslaving all of humanity. And I mean, really, you'd think that one of them would have thought of this already. I'd really like to see them write themselves out of that.

Fast Fingers

73 words

Hmmmmm. It appears I have improved slightly since Gr. 11 Info Processing. I used to get around 60 words per minute. I think that's pretty good. Can anyone beat it?

!

Holy crap, Heath Ledger's dead.





In totally unrelated news...

Jerry O'Connell makes fun of Tom Cruise. Good for you, Jerry. I really wish more people would tell Tom that he's full of crap. (This video only makes sense if you've already watched the one of Tom Cruise that I posted about previously).

Good books, great tv, and insane celebrities

Wow, it's been awhile. I've been meaning to post on all sorts of things, but I just haven't had the time.

1. I just finished reading Inkspell by Cornelia Funke, the second novel in her trilogy. I thought I should read it in anticipation of the Inkheart movie that's coming out in March. I thought the book was okay. It was actually really, really hard to get into at first, but about half-way through it picks up a bit, and actually turns out to be pretty good. I came across an absolutely scathing review of the book, and I do agree with a couple of things in it - namely that the book should have been edited a bit more. And I also agree that, when you think about it, the female characters, especially Meggie (who's supposed to be the main protagonist!) are a bit weak. But in the end, it was still a good story. Although it kind of left you hanging. The last book, Inkdeath, is being released in English in April of this year.

2. I was channel surfing on Saturday night and stumbled across the new series on Space, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and was it ever good! I liked the Terminator movies, although I'm not an uber-fan; I haven't even seen the third movie because I heard it wasn't very good. And apparently the creators of this series agree, because it takes place after the second movie, and is all about sarah and john hiding out and trying to stop the creation of skynet. And they're being protected by a sexy teenage cyborg from the future, who sometimes acts like a normal teen girl and sometimes acts like a creepy robot. I am wondering a little bit about the age of John. Now, the first movie, Terminator, takes place in 1984. Sarah gets pregnant with John in the movie, and even if you assume that the movie takes place in early 1984, so that John would be born in late 1984, that still makes him only 15 in 1999. In the first episode, they do a time jump from 1999 to 2007. That's good in a way, because it brings the series up to the present, but John still gets to be a teenager. If he hadn't skipped those 8 years, he'd be 23. The thing is that the actor who plays John, Thomas Dekker, is actually 20, and I have a hard time trying to believe that he's only 15. But aside from this, I thought the first two episodes were really good, and the series has potential. So if you get Space, and you even minorly enjoyed the Terminator movies, check it out.


3. Tom Cruise is insane. He comes across as a total megalomaniac in this video (I'm the only one who can save the world!), that is if you can get past his almost complete incoherence. Jargon and acronyms all over the place, incomplete sentences and unfinished thoughts, basically the same idea stated over and over again (I'm here to help people, cuz scientoligists can really help, so we're going to help because people need help...). Tom does not do well without a script.

Welcome 2008

Hello all;

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Smashing New Year. My New Year's was technically smashing (although not as smashing as last year) because somebody broke a mirror in my friend's bedroom at her New Year's Eve get together. But that's a really misleading anecdote as it was an otherwise fairly tame event, and I was at home and in my bed by 1:00 am.

Now the other thing that comes with the New Year, besides broken furniture and hangovers, is resolutions, and it seems everyone I know has been pestering me to tell them mine. To be honest, I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions. Mostly because I have discovered I am all talk and no action, and I break my resolutions almost before I've finished making them. But I think this year I'll make an exception. So my resolution for 2008 is:

No More Procrastinating. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. And all that jazz. Because although I've gotten slightly better about this in recent years, it is still an area of my personality that could use some major work. How bad am I? Well here is a prime example: I have lived at my current residence for 2 years and 3 months. And sitting in a corner of my living room is a laundry basket full of paper. And it's been there since I moved in. 2 years and 3 months ago. Shocking, I know. And I can't say that I haven't had time to go through the papers. I'm sure there was an afternoon or an evening somewhere that I could've just bit the bullet and done the deed. But you know, there's always better things to do. BUT NO MORE.

In fact, in honour of my resolution I have declared January "National Get-Your-Shit-Together Month". And I encourage any of you who are similarly inclined to join me. I have even cleared the slate at work - no storytimes or programming - so that I can do some badly needed file sorting and weeding. So hopefully I'll be a busy non-procrastinating little bee this month, sorting, de-junking, and cleaning.

Starting tomorrow. Because you see, I was going to start tonight, but there was a really good movie on TV (never you mind that I've already seen it three times). And then of course I had to blog about my resolution. But, starting tomorrow, No More Procrastinating.

Really. Serious. I promise.

Items good and bad

1) The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray is officially out in four days. Woo hoo!

2) I have just purchased the Labyrinth Soundtrack and it is fabulous. When I hear a song, I can see exactly what's happening in the movie, even though it's been years since I last saw it. Labyrinth is the best movie ever made, and no one will ever convince me otherwise. Jim Hensen, Goblins, Jennifer Connelly, and David Bowie in tight pants! You can't go wrong.

3) Today at the library I noticed two young boys, around 5 and 8 years old, sitting in the children's section. They were just sitting there looking sad and incredibly bored. So I went over to talk with them. And apparently their Dad had ditched them to go and do something on the adult side of the library. So I asked them if they would like to look at some books while they were waiting, and they said no. And I said, "Well, you look bored. I'll go find you some books and you guys can look at the pictures." So I found some picture books, brought them back to them. And they didn't even open them. They sat there for 45 minutes, completely bored, with an entire children's department of books surrounding them. It was so frustrating, because I don't want to force books on unwilling kids, but I mean really, what is this world coming to??? Obviously their parents don't read to them at all. If my parents had ditched me at a library at that age (or any age) I would've been in heaven.

4) I noticed that SB over at Digital Diamonds has attempted to read God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens and found it... lacking. I read this book a few months ago, but just never got around to posting about it. Basically, although I agree with the sentiment behind the book whole-heartedly, I have to say that it is a spectacularly badly-written book. First of all, it's a tough slog at times because he uses a lot of big complicated words. Sometimes it's good to add a new word to your vocabulary, but there are other times when it is completely unnecessary. Hitchens may think he sounds intelligent, but really all he's done is make his book inaccessible to normal people. People who don't have the patience to wade through his overly-complex prose. If you want to convince people of your point of view, then you should probably try to speak to them on their level.

Secondly, and more importantly, he meanders. He starts out the book well with a well-organized introduction. And each chapter seems to start out fairly well, with a clear direction of where he wants to end up. After that's where it all falls to pieces. He meanders of topic, goes into various asides, and often ends the chapter in a completely different place than where you thought you were headed at the beginning. If I had turned in essays like that in university, I would've gotten a C-plus, at the most. I don't know a lot about him, but I think I read somewhere that the guy's a journalist. For someone who is supposed to write for a living, he sure doesn't appear to have had much practice.

Really, the book in general is a pretty big disappointment. It promises so much with it's bold controversial title, and then just ends up being barely mediocre. Sad, sad, sad.

5) Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My cat is weird

George is kind of a weird cat. Avery sleeps in normal kitty places, like in her kitty bed or curled up on the couch. George is another story.


This is George, momentarily disturbed mid-nap by my camera's flash. He really does sleep like this. On his back, legs in the air, usually in the middle of the floor somewhere.




These two pictures display George in his other preferred sleeping position: Face down, usually on top of my desk or my stereo. I've never seen another cat do this, with one possible exception.

In other news, I saw The Golden Compass last night. And I thought it was pretty good. Maybe a bit slow in the middle, but good. I was worried cuz I'd read a bunch of bad reviews. People were saying that the end was terrible because there was no climax. Of course there was one, but it obviously didn't tie up all the loose ends because it's the first part of a trilogy. The book was like that too. If you didn't go on to read the second and third books, then the first one was really unsatisfying. A lot has to get set up in the first book for the other two to work. Interestingly enough, the movie ended in an earlier place than the first book. But I think I agree with the way they did it. Because in the book, it was like you got two climaxes. The first one (where the movie ended) and then the second one later. And they're saving the second one for the beginning of the first movie. And that's fine. Good acting from Dakota Richards, the girl who plays Lyra, and Nicole Kidman who plays a very good (bad) Mrs. Coulter. Didn't get to see too much of Daniel Craig. I guess I'll just have to wait for the next Bond movie.

I've also just finished reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It was quite good. The book is absolutely huge. In fact, I'd say the length is on par with the fifth Harry Potter book. But it really is deceptive, because probably about a third or more of the book is made up of drawings. It's a really neat book, because it's like a novel/graphic novel in one. But the pictures almost work like a film sequence. And film is a very important theme throughout the book. So it was a good read, and for you librarians out there, don't be fooled or put off by the thickness of the book. The book is actually quite short, I read it in a couple of evenings, and I would feel comfortable recommending it to a good third grade reader.

I also finished reading Cornelia Funke's Inkheart and have moved on to its sequel Inkspell. And while I was at The Golden Compass, I saw a preview for Inkheart the movie. And I think I have a new crush on Brendan Fraser. I also just re-watched Mrs. Winterbourne which isn't a great movie in my opinion, but it just reminded me of how cute Brendan Fraser can be. Anyway, Inkheart is slated for release in March 2008, and I can't wait.

*blush*

So I went home for lunch today...

And discovered that I had been wearing my shirt inside-out all morning. And no one said anything. Now it could be that no one noticed, because it was chilly in the basement this morning, so I wore a sweater to do storytime. That would have covered up the attractive white tag sticking out the side. But it wasn't buttoned up, so it probably flapped open a bit during the Hokey Pokey. Luckily my copious amounts of hair camouflaged the wonky collar.

But I was stilly pretty embarrassed.

I've never actually done something like that before. I mean, how could I not notice all morning? Yes, I got up late and dressed in a hurry. And I hadn't finished planning for my morning storytime so I had to rush right away and do that, and then launch immediately into storytime. But still.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most organized or 'together' person in the world, but this was bad even for me. So has anyone else done something equally silly? That maybe you could share? And then I wouldn't feel quite so dumb?

More silliness

*Sigh* Not again.

And this just after an attempt to ban a book in my own library system. A mother was angry because her 8-year-old read an 'inappropriate' graphic novel that was shelved and labeled as young adult. So maybe you should tell your 8-year-old child to stick to the juvenile section instead of trying to yank an entire series of graphic novels off the young adult shelves. Ever think of that, hmmmm?

So, according to a recent news article (thanks for the link Garden Girl), a Catholic School Board in Ontario has yanked Philip Pullman's Golden Compass trilogy from its school's shelves due to all the atheist controversy swirling around it.

First of all, it is my personal belief that it is almost NEVER acceptable to remove any book from library shelves. I do realize that because I work in a public library, it's a little easier for me to say that. I'm supposed to be a neutral party, promoting no one point of view over another (let's please not get into whether it's actually possible for a librarian to be completely neutral). A Catholic School Board however, by its very nature, is already biased. So when they come across a book that promotes atheism, I can see how it might draw some negative attention.

But does the Golden Compass trilogy promote atheism? Oh yeah, absolutely. I read and loved those books, and one of the reasons I loved them was because they were so critical of Christianity. I mean, they basically turn the Christian Creation Myth on its head. And I loved that because I've always found Christianity to be horribly misogynistic, what with the whole thing about Eve being the mother of all sin. And Pullman turned it around and basically said that original sin is good. Eve's a HERO for eating the fruit of knowledge. And I think that's fabulous. And the bad guys in this story were members of a religious organization which was basically a thinly disguised version of the Catholic Church. So I can see why Catholics might be upset.

But the thing to remember here, is that we're not talking about adults reading these books, but children. I was 23 when I first read these books. So yeah, I got all the biblical references and I knew exactly where Pullman was coming from. But a kid? Even a teen? I think maybe an older, thoughtful teen would pick up on the atheist sentiment, but otherwise I think most kids are going to read this book as an awesome adventure fantasy novel. Because that's exactly what it is.

When I was in Gr. 3, I read the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time. And I fell in love with them. I thought they were awesome. At that time, I went to the Anglican Church almost every Sunday, and I was fairly familiar with the story of Jesus. But did I get any of the Christian allegory?? Of course not. I just thought they were really good books. The parellels of Aslan allowing himself to be sacrificed on the stone table to save Edmund and Jesus allowing himself to be crucified to save humanity is something that only became obvious to me when I re-read the books when I was a lot older. Kids just aren't looking for these things, and they don't really care either.

The funny thing is, Philip Pullman absolutely hates the Chronicles of Narnia, seeing them as these horrible tools to indoctrinate children to Christianity at a young age. But I think he's being kind of silly. It didn't work on me. And I think if anyone, including Philip Pullman, thinks that the Golden Compass is going to churn out a whole generation of atheists, then they're dreaming.

Kids will, for the most part, just read it as a story. But I think the Catholic School Board has probably done the exact opposite of what they intended by removing the books from its shelves. Cuz now kids KNOW that there's something wrong with the books, something that adults don't want them to know. Now they're going to be curious. What's up with this book? And many more kids, who might not have picked up the book otherwise, are going to want to have a look. And they're going to be able to get ahold of it whether or not the silly Catholic School Board has it on its shelves or not.

And that basically sums up what I think of the whole thing:
Attempted Censorship = Silliness

Get a life peoples.

A mild blow to the ego

I gotta admit, I'm a little disappointed. I mean, I have always really hated people who obfuscate their prose with big words and jargon just to sound smart and well-read. Remember those papers you had to read in university where you had to get the dictionary out for every other word? I really don't think that people have to write unintelligibly to write intelligently.

However, I must admit, as much as I love reading it, Children's and YA lit probably isn't the best thing for expanding my vocabulary. So I'm thinking of trying something that was actually intended for an adult audience.

*Gulp*

I Hate Hotmail

Okay, is it just me, or does the new hotmail suck? And that's not a rhetorical question, because I really could be overlooking something which would prove that Microsoft really doesn't hate me. So if anybody knows something I don't, please share.

Complaint #1: I cannot figure out how to edit my forwards. You could before. And I like to do that, especially the ones that have been around a lot and have collected all those lists of e-mail addresses at the top which you have to scroll through before you get to the funny picture/video/joke at the bottom. But it doesn't let me now, and I don't know what to do. I actually sent a complaint to microsoft about this one, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Complaint #2: I have been having trouble with their picture uploading tool. Maybe it's just my computer, but I click on upload picture, select the picture, and it looks like it's going to attach, but then it kicks me back to my e-mail, and there's nothing attached. Super, super frustrating.

Complaint #3: I tried for 20 minutes this morning to send an e-mail, and couldn't because their freaking server was too busy. Now I have tried to log on to hotmail before and had it say that the server was too busy. That's fine. But once you're in there, you should be able to send stuff. Otherwise, what's the point? And I've never been unable to send stuff before they did the upgrade.

Personally, the old hotmail was working just fine for me, thank you very much. I don't know why people have to go and change things and then there's all these stupid bugs. Anyway, I'm quickly running out of patience. I think I hear gmail calling me.

Post-Election Blues

I have lived in three different constituencies in this province, and not once has the candidate I voted for won in either a federal or provincial election.

I'm starting to feel like maybe I'm a jinx.

I thought for sure this election would be different. This riding was expected by everyone to stay the same as last election. But no, in an unexpected upset, the guy I voted for lost by an extremely narrow margin. So I'd like to apologize, cuz it's my fault. I voted for him, therefore he couldn't win.

I know I'm being silly, but I can't help being slightly depressed.

Scary Movies

So tonight is Halloween. Definitely my favourite time of year. Candy packaged into little bite-sized pieces. Costume parties. Pumpkin-carving. And scary movies. In the days leading up to Halloween, there's always tons of horror movies on TV. And I used to really enjoy them, but I gotta say, I think I'm losing my tolerance for them.

When I was a kid, my parents were pretty lenient when it came to what movies or TV I watched, but I still wasn't allowed to watch horror movies until I was about 12. In fact, for one of my birthday parties, my friends and I snuck out and rented The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, watched it after my parents went to bed, and secretly returned it the next day. I'm not really sure it was worth it, because the fear of what would happen if we got caught was way worse than anything the movie dished out. In fact, those types of movies, the ones with psychotic killers in silly masks jumping out from behind doors wielding chainsaws and knives, just weren't ever that scary to me. For one of my later sleepovers, we rented Clownhouse, and while my friends were shaking in their boots, I thought it was just the dumbest thing I'd ever seen. Three escaped mental patients happen across some circus clowns, kill them, steal their costumes, and then proceed to torment three young brothers who happen to be home alone, one of whom happens to have a phobia of clowns. Really? Uh huh.

Now the movies that I really enjoy and that also really get to me are the ones that have supernatural elements in them. I'm not sure why this is, because whether you're being chased by a murderous psychopath or a murderous ghost, it all amounts to the same thing, doesn't it? But maybe it's because, with a psychopath, you can take some precautions. Lock the door. Don't answer the phone. Don't go down to the creepy dark basement by yourself with a dim flashlight as your only weapon YOU FUCKING IDIOT! (Ho ho, I bet that gets me an R rating.) But with ghosts, there's nothing you can do. They can go through walls and doors, they can get into your mind, and they can't be killed (although it seems like some of the psychopaths are impossible to kill as well *cough*Michael Myers*cough*).

Which brings me to the current state of affairs. I'm not sure I can handle creepy ghostly horror movies anymore. They FREAK ME OUT. The last couple of horror movies I watched were really bad experiences. The first of these incidences was the night my sister and I went and saw The Ring. I'm not sure why that night was so bad, but maybe it's because we really didn't know what we were getting into. Neither of us had seen the previews, although I admit that we at least knew that it was supposed to be some sort of horror movie.

Well. It was good, really good, but scary, really scary. Those images that were in the movie (the movie within the movie I mean, the movie that's supposed to kill you), the imagery was just really disturbing. And the girl with the black hair combed over her face crawling out of the well. I still get shivers thinking about it. You know that scene when Naomi Watts has just finished watching the movie and her mouth is open and there's this stunned look of horror on her face? That's pretty much how K and I looked at the end of the movie. Completely shell-shocked. On shaking legs we went out to the car, promptly drove to the nearest video store where we rented a whole bunch of cartoons. We then went back to my apartment and stayed up to watch all of those cartoons in an effort to erase the terrifying images that had been imprinted on our brains. It did not work. K spent the night at my apartment with me. We kept all the lights on, and I still did not sleep a wink. I, in fact, did not sleep well for a week.

That experience cured me of wanting to go and see any horror movies for quite some time. Then, a couple of years later, K was in E-Town visiting with me, and we got it into our heads that we should go and see The Amityville Horror. We just don't learn, do we? We payed almost twenty dollars each to get in. Then the movie started, and we immediately realized we'd made a mistake. We were alternately covering our ears, covering our eyes, or grabbing each other in terror. You know that scene where the babysitter is locked in the closet with the dead girl and she sticks her finger in the bullet hole in the girl's forehead? I just about died. Halfway through the movie we decided that we should probably remove ourselves from the theatre before we injured ourselves or someone else. I imagine the entire audience breathed a collective sigh of relief as we exited. We felt kind of silly afterwards, because it was just a movie, and we'd basically wasted fourty bucks. But obviously, K and I just can't handle scary movies.

Having said that, there are some scary movies that I've enjoyed like The Others (that one was really fun as one of the girls I was sitting with threw her popcorn into the air at one of the scary parts and it went everywhere), or The Sixth Sense. But these aren't really scary, just a slightly creepy. And no really disturbing imagery. In fact, I'd say that it's the gory details that get to me, except that I think The Shining has some pretty graphic details in it, what with the blood gushing everywhere and the dead woman in the bathtub, but that's another horror movie I don't mind watching. In fact, the only connecting factor I can come up with between horror movies I enjoy and horror movies that terrify me is... my sister.

I don't know what it is. Maybe we feed off each other's fear creating some sort of energy of terror that engulfs us both. Whatever the reason, I know who I will NOT be watching my next horror film with. Ya hear that K?

Bad Movies

Here are, in no particular order, three of the worst movies I've ever seen:

Mr. Wrong: This movie is wrong. Poor Ellen. I have liked Bill Pullman in other movies, but this was just so un-funny. I spent the last half of the movie cringing.

Godzilla (1998): I like Matthew Broderick, so I tried hard to like this movie, but it's usually a bad sign when you want the monster to win. Seriously, if the monster had come up on land and chomped all the people, the movie would have been improved 100%. I have rarely been so tempted to leave the theatre in the middle of a film.

Down to Earth: This is one of those movies where all the funny parts were in the previews, except that even the funny parts weren't that funny. I didn't even crack a smile. It was just tedious. Once again, I seriously considered leaving halfway through the film. But I just kept saying to myself, "It's Chris Rock! Surely this gets funnier?". But, alas, it did not.

I'm pretty forgiving of movies. So if I hate something, it's usually really, really bad.

Night-time Entertainment

Why, when I dream, am I never wearing any pants?

The Angel Gene

There is the most adorable five-year-old boy that comes to my story times. He is always cheerful and enthusiastic about everything. We're doing play dough for craft time? Wonderful! I love play dough! A book about cats? Wonderful! I think kitties are so cute! He gets totally into all the songs and stories. And I swear to you, I've never seen the kid frown. Not even for a second, not once. He's also really polite, both with adults and other children. He has a little brother who is about 3, and it's the same thing. Just absolutely ecstatic to be alive in the world.

This, to me, is amazing. I mean, everybody has bad days, wrong-side-of-the-bed days, can't-do-anything-right days. I know I only see them once a week, but they've been coming to storytime for over a year now, and even my other storytime favourites have a meltdown now and again. But not these kids. I have basically come to regard their mother with awe. I have been tempted to ask her, "How have you brainwashed these Stepford children into being complete angels, and can you teach me how to do it?" (Yes, I know I don't have kids, but if I ever do, this knowledge will be invaluable.)

And then today, they brought their baby sister along with them. She is about one I would guess. Sitting up, crawling, but not yet walking. And she was exactly the same. Completely happy. Her mom took her out of her stroller, set her down on the floor in the middle of a bunch of strange kids and parents, and then went to help her boys with the craft. And this baby didn't even bat an eyelash. She grabbed a nearby ball and started playing catch with the closest adult. Smiling and laughing.

A one-year-old is too little to be bribed, cajoled or disciplined. Which leads me to believe that the mom has not done anything to make her kids this way. This is their natural state of being. They are genetically prone to be angelic. I think that geneticists everywhere might be interested in isolating and studying this amazing genetic phenomenon.

It's not rocket science people...

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Miscellaneous

Ho hum. So Harper made his throne speech. The Bloc and NDP have already said that they will vote against the Harper government, so the Liberals have the balance of power. Any guesses as to what they'll do? In his speech, Harper indicated that he would like the Canadian troops to stay in Afghanistan until 2011, and that there was no way that Canada could honour their Kyoto commitment, two issues that the Liberals have been pestering the conservatives about constantly. But I suspect that the Liberals will end up supporting the government. Because they know that if there's an election now, they will get their asses kicked, and then we'd be stuck with a majority conservative government for at least 4 years. I've gotta admit, right here, I'm NOT a fan of the conservatives. But in a way, I wish the Liberals would vote against the government. At least they'd be honouring their principles. And it just seems like everyone out there is just out to get in power or stay in power. Whatever it takes. They flip flop on everything. I would like the political parties out there to say "This is what we believe." And then stick to that, whether or not they do or don't get elected. Because otherwise, what's the point? If all the parties out there will change their policies and principles at the drop of a hat just to stay in power, or have a better chance of getting in power, then does it really matter who we elect? They all become the same. I can really understand why voter turnouts are getting to be so low in this country. I think I myself have come down with a major case of apathy.

In other news, I have once again been too nice and accomodating, and now I have WAY too much on my plate. It's just really tough for me to say no to people. If I've said yes to one person, then it just doesn't seem fair for me to say no to another. And now I've just got a ton of stuff going on at work. For example, I am doing a database presentation for another library's staff workshop, and I have done this presentation before, got all the handouts already, so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal time commitment-wise, except that they went and CHANGED THE DATABASE INTERFACE so that nothing, NOTHING in my handouts applies anymore. So I have to rewrite my whole damn presentation. Generally speaking, I actually do well under pressure. In university, I couldn't even work on an assignment until the situation started to get desperate. I wrote some of my best essays the night before, and I have always been notorious for last-minute exam cramming. But I'm only good until the pressure reaches a certain point. If the pressure gets too hot, something's gotta give. And I feel like I'm at that point right now. There's that barely controlled feeling of panic in my stomach, like I'm in the water and my head's about to go under for the third and final time. At this point I either a)completely lose it and start yelling at someone ("Get someone else to write you a reference, I have a f@#$ing newsletter to finish here!") or b)get sick and end up cancelling a whole bunch of stuff until I feel better. Wish me luck.

And finally, in complete denial of my situation and in a display of pure procrastination not seen since my library school days, I have been doing a lot of reading. In particular I would like to say that Shannon Hale is AWESOME! I read The Princess Academy, and thought okay, that was pretty good. And the I read the Goose Girl, and thought, this lady rocks! It might be partially because I have always been very fond of the fairytale The Goose Girl. Very gory. With the horse head nailed to the gate. And even though I'm sure it's been 20 years since I read that story, I still remember what the horse head says to her: "If your mother only knew / her heart would surely break in two". And the ending, where the imposter gets the punishment that she suggests for the real princess: to be placed in a barrel spiked with nails and rolled through the streets behind two horses. I mean, how gruesome a death is that? Another of my favourite fairy tales which doesn't get told very often is The Tinderbox. With the dogs with the huge eyes who go to the palace and steal away the princess every night. Or, does anyone remember the one about the princess on the glass hill? And the knight who was able to ride his horse up the hill got to marry her? Anyone remember that one? So how about you? Any favourite fairy tales out there?