Redundant Translation on Parliament Hill

Did you hear an echo? I know I did. Let me explain.

I'm a Proud Canadian. I'm also French-Canadian. I am also Bilingual; fluent in both English and French.

I watched the Canada Day celebrations on CBC, because I couldn't be there personally. I felt a great job was done, with a good selection of musicians, but overall, I felt one thing stood out like a sore thumb.

As Prime Minister Harper spoke, first in French, then in English, what I'm interpreting as eager translators started translating Harper's words of French into English. Seconds later, the same English words followed from his own lips. I found this silly. No, actually, I felt it more as an affront.

We're a Bi-lingual country, are we not? Then we perhaps should start acting like one. Canada Day isn't just about celebrating our beautiful country. It's about celebrating our diversity and our multiculturism. It's about celebrating what we're proud in, including the fact that we're officially a bilingual country.

Canada Day of all things should show all this. Speaking frankly as a French-Canadian, having the translations spoken over the French words was almost to the effect of shushing one of our official languages. Why? Both languages should have a chance to be spoken on their own merit, without interruption. I shouldn't have to switch to RDI, CBC's French counterpart, just to hear the French version of the words. I should be able to hear every word as it was meant to be heard, no matter which channel I'm listening to. It just sounds backwards otherwise. Even people who understand only one of the official languages often like to hear the other.

So, Canada, let's be bilingual, for real now.

I Met a Hero

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of attending a speaker. Her name is Meagan McGrath and was all over the national news last month after climbing to Everest's Summit. She's young; only a year younger than I am, making her the youngest Canadian on record to climb the highest mountain on every continent. She's also the first member of the Canadian Armed Forces, an aerospace engineer, to do so. In itself, that is remarkable, but it doesn't end there.

After making it to the top and then making her way back down, she explained how she became a hero. She came across someone who was just standing there motionless. After a few moments, she knew that something was wrong with this person. After a communication barrier (She was a Nepalese), and she managed to break through and find out that this person wanted her to get her goggles out to continue up, and to Meagan, it was obvious to her that she wouldn't make her window of opportunity because it was too late in the day at the rate she was going, she she tried to convince the Nepalese woman that she needed to go back down to seek help.

To give some perspective on this, the woman was suffering from a lack of oxygen, and her brain was swelling up and wasn't "all there" because of that lack of oxygen. They have medicine that they can inject to keep the swelling down, but Meagan only had pills. She couldn't really tell where she was, so she managed to flag down a Sherpa who helped her take the woman down to a point where they encountered a seasoned climber who happened to be famous and was familiar with rescue, so he took over from there after injecting her with some medicine. If this encounter wouldn't have happened, this Nepalese woman would have died. Meagan simply couldn't live with the thought of leaving someone die, although apparently it happens quite often, so she had to do something to save this woman. Nobody else had been paying attention and just went past her as if nothing had been wrong; even her own Sherpa.

If that alone wasn't enough excitement, Meagan eventually started to experience a breathing problem and she wanted to get back down to base camp as soon as possible and she didn't have anymore oxygen tanks as she had given her last one to the Nepalese. It was later determined that she had a lung infection.

It's really quite amazing to hear it all come from her. I mean, all of it, from the preparations involved, to the acclimatization, to the climb itself, and finally, to the rescue. You really don't get a sense of how big Everest really is, not even on the IMAX movie, until you see it from someone's very own eyes. She showed us some of the massive crevasses she had to walk over using ladders, which would rightfully scare anyone, possibly even trained tightrope walkers. Some people look at these once and say, "Ok, that's enough! I want to go home!" When you realize that nature takes its course and things melt, such as ladders falling, it's even scarier. One such thing happened. She had crossed a crevasse, and then the next day, the ladder they had walked across had fallen in-between, and only hanging by a rope, and that was due to melting and the crevasse enlarging. Just a night is all it takes. Just amazing. When you think of what it takes to climb Everest, I think these people could easily join the circus, but then again, sometimes you just don't want to do it all over again. Sometimes it's just that one-in-a-lifetime experience that you're searching for.

When the talk was finished, a crowd was surrounding her, and it wasn't until the crowd dispersed enough for me to get to talk to her. I asked her, "What was your favourite part of the whole experience?" This was probably the only question that had given her a serious pause as she thought of what to say. She said, it was the company. Being at the base camp for 2 months, eating food and creating new friends that share a common interest, and then climbing with those friends. It hadn't even occurred to her she was a hero until she arrived at basecamp; and then she was honoured by Nepal for saving the Nepalese woman who was severely ill. A hero indeed.


Here's an article about her: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/0...st-rescue.html

Rental: Bon Cop, Bad Cop

Last summer saw one of the most profitable Canadian movies of all time. Bon Cop, Bad Cop was set to become Canada's buddy cop movie.

It's tough finding something original these days, especially if it's a crime drama, as many cliches fall into place and it's hard to avoid them. So, how do you make a movie that sets it apart from all the rest of these buddy cop movies? You make the crime happen right on the border between two provinces that have trouble getting used to all of their faults. And I mean that literally.

A body is found right on the border between Quebec and Ontario. At first, the two officers assigned to the case on each side of the border refuse to work with each other. And what follows is a wonderful chemistry between Martin Ward (Colm Feore) and David Bouchard (Patrick Huard).

The movie really plays hard on the stereotypes, and the subtitles are an integral part of the movie, as they often switch between English and French midway between their sentences. This makes for a good number of jokes, for both English and French speakers. It's the first bi-lingual movie in Canada, having filmed two scripts; one entirely in english and one entirely in French. Which was used during key moments was only finalized during the editing process. For me, a bi-lingual, the movie was even better because I understood everything. The subtitles aren't always exact, as sometimes they're often part of the joke, so you don't just have the vocal part, but the visual part as well. And believe it or not, it works very well, and the movie is extremely funny.

If you want a good cop movie with some good suspense and comedy thrown in, then rent it. I doubt you will be disappointed.

David Bouchard: [surprised] You speak French?
Martin Ward: No, not really. I had a small gadget installed in my brain and I see subtitles under people when they speak.

Movie Review: Shrek The Third

Shrek was great. I really loved it, and when the second came out, I didn't think it could top it, but I ended up loving it better than the first. There were just so many jokes in references in it to make one's side split in laughter, plus the character had gotten even better.

I was really looking forward to Shrek 3, and I went to see it a few weeks ago. There were a lot of laughs, but there weren't as many as the previous movies. It was as if the characters had been tamed. And they were. They even got along better and didn't get into disagreements or annoy each other like in the previous. Then I read about the fact that it was a different team that had made this one than the first two, which pretty much explains why this one hadn't been as great.

Still, if you're a Shrek fan, you can't go wrong with it. Just don't expect the same level of clever jokes and references.

Currently Reading: System of the World - Neal Stephenson

It's nice and sunny out now, thankfully. It's actually summer weather compared to the fall weather we've been having the last few days. You may be wondering, what I'm reading. Well, read on and let me tell you.

I'm currently reading part 3 of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, System of the World. From what I hear, for those who have stuck with reading this trilogy, is a treat for the readers. I'm currently about a quarter of a way through it and I'm really enjoying getting back to reading about the characters that I loved so much in the first two installments. I'll post the synopsis for each of the volumes for you to get an idea of the extensiveness of the story.

QuickSilver:

In Quicksilver, the first volume of the "Baroque Cycle," Neal Stephenson launches his most ambitious work to date. The novel, divided into three books, opens in 1713 with the ageless Enoch Root seeking Daniel Waterhouse on the campus of what passes for MIT in eighteenth-century Massachusetts. Daniel, Enoch's message conveys, is key to resolving an explosive scientific battle of preeminence between Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz over the development of calculus. As Daniel returns to London aboard the Minerva, readers are catapulted back half a century to recall his years at Cambridge with young Isaac. Daniel is a perfect historical witness. Privy to Robert Hooke's early drawings of microscope images and with associates among the English nobility, religious radicals, and the Royal Society, he also befriends Samuel Pepys, risks a cup of coffee, and enjoys a lecture on Belgian waffles and cleavage-—all before the year 1700.

The Confusion (as by Publisher's Weekly):

The title of Stephenson's vast, splendid and absorbing sequel to Quicksilver (2003) suggests the state of mind that even devoted fans may face on occasion as they follow the glorious and exceedingly complex parallel stories of Jack Shaftoe, amiable criminal mastermind, and Eliza, Countess de la Zeur, courageous secret agent and former prisoner in a Turkish harem. In 1689, Jack recovers his memory in Algiers, evades galley slavery and joins a quest for the lost treasure of a Spanish pirate named Carlos Olancho Macho y Macho. This leads to adventures at sea worthy of Patrick O'Brian, and hairbreadth escapes from the jaws of the Inquisition. Meanwhile, Eliza is captured by the historical (and distinguished) French privateer Jean Bart while trying to escape to England with her baby. She must then navigate the intrigues of the court of Louis XIV, which are less lethal than those of the Inquisition by a small margin, but still make for uneasy sleep for a friendless female spy. Her correspondence with such scientific minds as Wilhelm Leibniz helps propel the saga's chronicling of the roots of modern science at a respectable clip. Of course, one can't call anything about the Baroque Cycle "brisk," but the richness of detail and language lending verisimilitude t? the setting and depth to the characters should be reward enough for most readers.

System of the World (as by Publisher's Weekly):

The colossal and impressive third volume (after Quicksilver and The Confusion) of Stephenson's magisterial exploration of the origins of the modern world in the scientific revolution of the baroque era begins in 1714. Daniel Waterhouse has returned to England, hoping to mediate the feud between Sir Isaac Newton and Leibniz, both of whom claim to have discovered the calculus and neither of whom is showing much scientific rationality in the dispute. This brawl takes place against the background of the imminent death of Queen Anne, which threatens a succession crisis as Jacobite (Stuart, Catholic) sympathizers confront supporters of the Hanoverian succession. Aside from the potential effect of the outcome on the intellectual climate of England, these political maneuverings are notable for the role played by trilogy heroine Eliza de la Zeur, who is now wielding her influence over Caroline of Ansbach, consort of the Hanoverian heir. Eliza has risen from the streets to the nobility without losing any of her creativity or her talents as a schemer; nor has outlaw Jack Shaftoe lost any of his wiliness. What he may have lost is discretion, since he oversteps the boundaries of both law and good sense far enough to narrowly escape the hangman. In the end, reluctant hero Waterhouse prevails against the machinations of everybody else, and scientific (if not sweet) reason wins by a nose. The symbol of that victory is the inventor Thomas Newcomen standing (rather like a cock crowing) atop the boiler of one of his first steam engines. This final volume in the cycle is another magnificent portrayal of an era, well worth the long slog it requires of Stephenson's many devoted readers.

Bunny is Back!

A few years ago, we had a bunny that chose our backyard and kept visiting it all summer long. We never knew where it was coming from since we live in a residential area. This was after the dog died, and it was my opinion that the bunny sensed the dog's spirit and felt at peace in the yard where we buried him. Then, something happened and the bunny disappeared, and didn't come the next year. I was kind of worried if something had happened to it.

Then today, my Dad mentioned that he saw the bunny in the backyard again. So, I went outside with my camera, while it was still sunny and managed to take a few pictures. I kept trying to get as close as possible to get the best picture I could, and I did manage to get a really good one. My camera is only a 2.1 Megapixel camera, so I was limited in the amount of zoom I could get, which meant I had to get substantially closer to the bunny without scaring it off. What I did was I laid down my my stomach and then snapped away.

I was out there for awhile, and the Bunny had gotten out from under the tree and started to eat grass and leaves. I felt a drop of rain on my nose, and then the minute the bunny started to feel raindrops, it ran the fastest I'd ever see it run back under the tree where it feels safe.

Hopefully I'll be able to keep seeing it over the summer.

Hilarity on the Highway

Let me preface this by saying that I don't travel very much, at least not out of the country. At least not at my age where I still have a lot of travelling to do and sights to see. But I'm posting this here because it does have something related to reading and it's funny.

Lately though, every year, we've tried to be at a certain place in Vermont which required lots of driving, many times straight through without much stopping. All 16 hours or so of it.A couple of years ago, something happened during our travels which will always stay with me. It's one of those moments where you just smile at what life decided to throw at you.

Sixteen hours is a long drive, and we all need to stop and take a leak, even if we're a little too quiet in the process. That summer, we were 3 in a rented minivan with my Dad doing the driving. I was in the front seat, quietly immersed in a book which I couldn't pry my eyes away from.

Brother in the back was as quiet as a mouse, also quite immersed in a book of his choosing. One of the few stops was getting gas, and so we pulled over to a gas station, in Rutland, Vermont, I think it was. Well, whaddya know, he needs to take a leak, and so he quietly, without making a sound, opens the sliding door and walks to the restroom.

Again, I say, I'm immersed in my own book, and I don't notice what's happening around me. After getting the gas pumped and paying for it, my Dad comes back and we drive off.

Fast forward to about 2 hours later, maybe less, and we get flashing lights in the rear view mirror. I glance over at my Dad and it seems like I can almost read his thoughts. "Huh? Is it legal to get gas in Vermont?", I could hear his mind say. Needless to say, we were both very puzzled as to what we did wrong.

Not one, but two cruisers had been sent for us. Wow, that's hardcore. It was actually kind of cool to hear that there were two of them sent for us. Well, when they knew they had found us, one of them turned back towards where he came from. As the lone officer walked up to us, my Dad rolled down the window. "Would you have by any chance left your son at a gas station?", the officer asks. Surely, he must have had the wrong vehicle, right? I mean, we're not the kind of people to leave our family members behind, at gas stations of all places. No, that would just be cruel. So, as I start to turn my head and look in the backseat to confirm my thoughts, I start saying, "No, he's right here...", a pause of unbelief spread across my face as I caught my fumble as I saw the unfortunate truth. "No, wait a minute! He's not!", I exclaimed.

Silence. Cold, hard truthful silence during those next few moments, and then the officer laughed as we thanked him and turned around back towards the gas station. Unfortunately, this delayed our destination by 2 hours. The upside is that we got my brother back all safe and sound. When we got to the gas station, he took it all in stride, and it seemed that the owner of that station, with a smile that looked like it was out of a cartoon, had a laugh at the situation too.

This adventure had even become the stuff of legends at our destination, even to the point of being featured in a newsletter and it's not something my Dad will ever live down.

The moral of the story here is: Make some noise and don't be so quiet when on a road trip. You'll never know if you'll be left behind.

Music Review: The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker

Every once in awhile, a record comes along that makes you sit up and take notice at a band you may never have paid attention to before. The Wailin' Jennys' latest release, Firecracker is one such release.

This is their second release, with one of the forming members, Annabelle Chvostek leaving the band; Heather Masse coming in to fill in for a critical 3rd voice. Gone are their celtic stylings that were apparent in the first release, and in with a more country-ish flavour that hint at the early style of country that is missing from many current country releases in favour of pop/rock oriented country.

When I first heard one of the songs, I was hooked and knew I had to get the record. Their 3 voices blend wonderfully and produce many haunting harmonies, on songs such as 'A Long Time Traveller'. I have to say, I think my favourite songs on the record are 'Begin' and 'Some Good Thing', but as always when a record is so good, it's hard to pick out the anything.

This record is not just a good country/folk record, but also a very good record in general for music lovers. It's a cracker of a record, one full of fire.

Album: The Wailin' Jennys - Firecracker
Label: Red House (US), Festival Destribution (Canada)
Release Date: June 6, 2006
Bonus Material?: No
Site: http://www.thewailinjennys.com/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/thewailinjennys

Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age becoming a mini-series

Ok, so if you read this blog, you probably know I'm a Neal Stephenson fan by now, so I was really excited when I found news of The Diamond Age being adapted by the Sci-Fi channel as a mini-series and being produced by George Clooney. Did I mention I'm really excited? Neal himself is writing the screenplay. Oh , yeah, I'm really excited.

Diamond Age, based on Neal Stephenson's best-selling novel The Diamond Age: Or a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, is a six-hour miniseries from Clooney and fellow executive producer Grant Heslov of Smokehouse Productions.

When a prominent member of society concludes that the futuristic civilization in which he lives is stifling creativity, he commissions an interactive book for his daughter that serves as a guide through a surreal alternate world. Stephenson will adapt his novel for the miniseries, the first time the Hugo and Nebula award winner has written for TV.

More info straight from the horse's mouth: http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=39447

Currently Reading: Nighttime is My Time - Mary Higgins Clark

Well, I just started this one a few days ago as I don't feel like getting into anything heavy just yet.

This is my first from hers and it's not bad, but it's also not that great. The character names are very generic sounding, and the chapters are also very short. I suppose that's kind of what I'm getting to with this kind of mainstream author. I'll post an update when I finish this book and post my thoughts about it in more detail, which is something I should be doing from now on with books.

Description:

"The definition of an owl had always pleased him: a night bird of prey...sharp talons and soft plumage which permits noiseless flight...applied figuratively to a person of nocturnal habits. 'I am The Owl,' he would whisper to himself after he had selected his prey, 'and nighttime is my time.'"

Jean Sheridan, a college dean and prominent historian, sets out to her hometown to attend the twenty-year reunion of Stonecroft Academy alumni, where she is to be honored along with six other members of her class. There is something uneasy in the air: one woman in the group about to be feted, Alison Kendall, a beautiful, high-powered Hollywood agent, drowned in her pool during an early-morning swim. Alison is the fifth woman in the class whose life has come to a sudden, mysterious end.

Adding to Jean's sense of unease is a taunting, anonymous fax she received, referring to her daughter -- a child she had given up for adoption twenty years ago.

At the award dinner, Jean is introduced to Sam Deegan, a detective obsessed by the unsolved murder of a young woman who may hold the key to the identity of the Stonecroft killer. Jean does not suspect that among the distinguished people she is greeting is The Owl, a murderer nearing the countdown on his mission of vengeance against the Stonecroft women who had mocked and humiliated him, with Jean as his final victim.

UPDATE - April 25th: Well, I finished the book and while I originally thought I wouldn't like it, I did really like it and I thought it was quite a good mystery. I realize there are two types of mystery novels. There are the murder mysteries and some of them can tend to be quite gruesome. I personally like them when it's just hinted at and not explicitly given in detail, and this book rides the thin line between both. I did like the fact that I kept on guessing who the murderer was as hints were dropped about who it may be. It maybe you realize that everyone is not as who they seem at first. I think that in the future I'll be reading more of these books of hers.



Author: Mary Higgins Clark
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pages: 464

LibraryThing

Well, in what seems to be almost forever, I've actually added something new to my blog. This thing is really cool. If you look on the bottom right of my menu, you'll see a box randomly displaying books in my collection. I spent nearly 2 hours last night creating and entering my list of books for my online library, and if you click on "my library", it will take you to my library where you can either view it as covers or with a list view. I actually find list view handier since you can check out the groupings using the tags you assign to the books. So, for instance, all my Asimov books are together, all my Star Trek books, all the books in a series, etc. Many of these books I haven't read yet and will post about them in the future.

Currently Reading: Titan: The Red King

Just a short note to update you all on what I'm currently reading. I'm reading the second book in the Titan series of Trek books, The Red King. You'll remember I started the series in June with Taking Wing.

I was actually reading something before this and after The Dueling Machine, but it was actually quite unremarkable and not really worth mentioning, so that's why it's taken me awhile to post anything on here.

Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth

Allow me to first say that, this movie is billed as an adult fantasy (no, not that kind of fantasy!) and has garnered many awards as an independent film as a fantastical achievement in both special effects and imagination.

I saw it a few nights ago with a friend after debating what to see. We ended up settling on Pan's Labyrinth because he really wanted to see it. I might be one of the few, but I have to say, I didn't really like it. It's too violent, too gory and too depressing and I found very little in the story that redeemed it. It felt more like a horror movie thinly disguised as a fantasy due to all the stuff that was happening, ie the shootings, the torture. Also found it didn't spend enough time in the actual fantasy stuff that would have been used to lighten things up. I thought the faun, while he was supposed to be one of the friendly characters in her fantasy, ended up even being threatening at times. Felt like one suckerpunch after another.

Sadly, I cannot recommend it. Let this serve as a warning to those who want to go see it. The trailer is very misleading in leading people to think that this has a lot of fantasy in it, which is really the opposite. It's almost as though the fantasy aspect of it was an afterthought. And after walking out of the theatre, my friend told me he knew it would be violent and gory due to the director's previous works. Had I known this, I wouldn't have went to see it.

Retro Reading - The Dueling Machine

So, I finish this stack of old books with one called The Dueling Machine by Ben Bova. Ben Bova had become one of my favourite authors after having read Mars by him, and so when I was picking out these old books, it was a delight to see a Ben Bova book.

I never know how these books will turn out. A lot of them can be really awful, while there can also be some real gems, and I'm glad to say that this is definitely a gem and Ben Bova's writing didn't disappoint.

The setting takes place in a world that feel have pretty much solved the conflict of mankind by allowing people to step into these booths and settle grudges by creating scenarios, much like those in a Holodeck. The catch is that there isn't supposed to be any harm to the people involved in these scenarios, so when someone dies after coming out of it, and another one going into a coma, the inventor of the dueling machine gets called to the planet where this occured to find the reasons why it did. The result is quite a story as we later find out that it's all due to a plot from an enemy planet to try to take over the entire sector after having found some of the flaws of the machine. Sure, it sounds like standard Sci-fi fare, but it really is quite remarkably written in that you really get involved in the story wondering what will happen next. Its probably not considered a classic by authority figures, but I sure consider it a classic in my collection. Sometimes the older books tend to have the best writing and can actually be called literature. A lot of newer would always like to be considered that, but it isn't always the case.

Retro Reading - The House of Many Worlds

I have a pile of old books I that I've mentioned from time to time. This is a pile that I still haven't managed to get through yet and it's been more than a year. Most of these books tend to be duds, but then I take chances and I find some gems. The House of Many Worlds is a gem among the rough. It's one of those books that are very good even after all the time has passed. It's one of those books has passed the test of time. Upon reading the first sentences, I knew this would be something special. I was right, of course, as I'm really enjoying what I'm reading.

Basically, the story is that of a strange house (not a haunted house as even the story mentions), but a house that has strange things happen to it. The owner of the house explains that it is a tangential point; a gateway to parallel worlds. At the point where I am in the story, the characters are now in a parallel world where the United States are called The Columbian Republic, and the nation's capital is New Orleans, not Washington, where the world doesn't have rockets, but have vehicles propelled by some form of propulsion.

It's all very interesting and it's apparently one of the better Alternate History novels published.

Synopsis:

Ancient, encrusted with legend, supposedly empty, the old mansion on Spindrift Key stood like a dark and lowering wraith. In this classic science fiction novel the New York Times called "a fast-moving adventure, told with engaging humor," reporter Elspeth Marriner`s nose for news leads her into a world of trouble. Make that, in worlds of trouble. When she and photographer Mack Fraser, the man she loves to hate, are sent to investigate the old mansion in the Hatteras, they never dream that once inside their lives will never be the same. For the house is a gateway to alternate Earths, watched over by a mysterious group called the Workers, who guard against more advanced civilizations crossing the dimensional barriers to conquer defenseless neighbors. From the Workers, Elspeth learns that her and Mack`s presence at the house is no accident. They have been personally selected by the Workers for a dangerous assignment. Their unique combination of talents and knowledge are needed to counter a threat that could plunge the entire world into war. If Elspeth accepted the assignment, she would have to cross to another world, aided only by her native ingenuity, then surmount a succession of plots and counterplots, with death the price of failure. Worse, she would have to work more closely than ever with the detested Mark Fraser. "Merwin has created characters that are human ¦ House of Many Worlds is entertaining and realistic." San Francisco Chronicle. "House of Many Worlds is an exciting ... story, with a new and highly unusual twist ¦ outstanding for its realistic characters and expert seasoning of thrills and horror." H. L. Gold, Galaxy Magazine.

How Blogs Are Born!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you've all had some good holidays. I know I did, and got quite a bit of awesome loot in the process, some of which I'll review here!

I only hope the year 2007 will end up being a better year for everyone, and in some cases, top 2006.

Not much today, but I thought I would make a post to let everyone know that I'm still safe and alive after all that binging. No, I didn't explode from overeating.

I found a certain video from Corner Gas (which I love) about how Blogs are born. I thought it would be appropriate to post it in my first post of the year. Robots vs Werewolves, I wonder...

Music Review: Sarah Mclachlan - Wintersong

Before I begin, I'd like to say, that while I liked Sarah Mclachlan's music in the past, I've never actually owned one of her albums until now.

It all started when I first saw one of her performances of Joni Mitchell's River a few weeks ago from her new Christmas album, and I knew it was something special from then on. Next was this week's free itunes download of her version of Silent Night, which had an Enya quality to it. I then knew I had to get this album.

So, now I have my first Sarah Mclachlan album, and as it so happens, it's probably the best Christmas album to be released this year. None of that tacky selection of Christmas songs like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer or Santa Clause is Coming to Town are on the album. Sarah Mclachlan explains that she despises the commercialism of Christmas, and she chose songs that reflected Christmas as a celebration of Christ instead of a symbol of commercialism. As such, the album has more of a personal touch to it, and you can see that the album has been a labor of love for her. It's also quite a deep album as many of the songs are sung with melancholy. One would think that as a Christmas album, the songs should be cheerful and upbeat, but the reality is, that life isn't so cheerful, and one often wonders if we'll be together for the next holiday. That's what Sarah Mclachlan tries to show through her singing, and in the end, it brings a sense of hope to the whole situation in a way that a cheerful Christmas album might not possible.

The arrangements are quite interesting and not always what you would expect. For example, the first time I heard Greensleeves, I thought it was a completely different song. The melody isn't the same as we know, rather it seems like an entirely different melody wrapped around the same lyrics. It changes the mood of the song entirely into one that is darker, but in its own way, it is beautiful.

Along with covers of Joni Mitchell's River, there's also a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's Song for a Winter's Night and the Charlie Brown Christmas favourite, Christmas Time is Here. All in all, along with her original Wintersong, her covers and her interpretations of the classics, it's really quite a remarkable album that manages to convey artistic expression as well as keeping in check the true reason for the Christmas season.

NOTE: I should mention that there have been videos released around the same time featuring songs from this album. They have her singing while playing a piano. These aren't the same versions of the songs that are on the album and the instrumentation on those featured songs are different.

Album: Sarah Mclachlan - Wintersong
Label: Arista /Sony Music Canada
Release Date: October 17th, 2006
Bonus Material?: No
Site: http://www.sarahmclachlan.com/
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/sarahmclachlan

Currently Reading: Deception Point

I became a fan of Dan Brown after reading the Da Vinci Code, and I think many did after that one, although it is a book that you either love or hate. Ironically, it was the second book in a series of books that became extremely popular, and it was only after it became popular that they reprinted Angels & Demons, his first book in the series. I actually ended up liking Angels & Demons better then the Da Vinci Code, and I hope they make a movie out of it like they made the Da Vinci Code a movie, which I found to be very cleverly made due to the book's visual clues. So far, all those books in the series have religion as a recurring topic. Angels & Demons presented a topic that is a very heated debate topic; one of Science vs Religion. The Da Vinci Code showed us that we should keep an open mind, that not everything should be taken at face value, that there is often an other side to what we are told. Apparently the yet unnamed third book will tackle the topic of Religion vs Politics, or Religion vs State, the Pentagon being a location in the story. It's all speculation of course, but I'm anxiously awaiting for its release.

In the mean time, I've wanted to read one of his earlier novels called Deception Point. I've wanted to read it for quite some time ever since I read an excerpt of it in, I think Angels & Demons, and I got it as a present last Christmas and only getting to it now.

Here's the description and synopsis:

When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory — a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election. To verify the authenticity of the find, the White House calls upon the skills of intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery — a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. But before she can warn the President, Rachel and Michael are ambushed by a deadly team of assassins. Fleeing for their lives across a desolate and lethal landscape, their only hope for survival is to discover who is behind this masterful plot. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.

Synopsis

When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory -- a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election.

Movie Review: Casino Royale

Finally, the James Bond franchise is cool again. I never liked Pierce Brosnan very much. His Bond seemed to more or less just be action movies with the Bond name attached to it, with very weak stories. They focused too much on the action, and cartoony action at that.

Me and My Dad went to see Casino Royale last night on the recommendation of my Sister, and it was probably one of the first movies in awhile that made me feel like it was money well spent. The last one that did that came close to that was The Prestige, but even that didn't really do it.

Casino Royale brings the franchise back down to earth. Remember when the movies actually had good stories and didn't suck? Has been awhile in this franchise hasn't it? Well, imagine if a movie actually made an effort to be a James Bond movie again. This movie is it.

You know, I originally had doubts about Daniel Craig as Bond. When they first announced him he got the role, many people gasped at the fact that they had cast a blond bond. But you know what? You could never actually tell he actually is blond, cause there is something called dying. I think Roger Moore was the closest to blond that we ever got before, and we won't get a blond bond, because Craig's hair was dyed. Ok, maybe it was a dark blond. Anyway, at first I didn't think he was suited for the part, but gradually I accepted him.

Last night I was damned glad that they had went with a particularly unknown actor. It means there's less to distract us about, unlike Pierce Brosnan who was in Remington Steele, and Roger Moore who played The Saint. It was in effect, a perfect start for a franchise looking to look back at its roots. In a way, it was sort of like getting our first look at Sean Connery in Dr No. And Daniel Craig reminded me a lot about Sean Connery's Bond, yet he didn't try to be Sean Connery. Rather he became his own unique Bond. There was no doubt at the end of the movie that, he was Bond. I was sorry I ever had casted doubts on Craig for the role.

The movie gets back to basics. There are no gadgets, except for the few believable things that I won't mention. There's no Q. No Money Penny. You might ask, what's a Bond movie without those things? I'll tell you. It's a Bond movie that's actually really good for once, because instead of having gadgets to rescue Bond out of stupid plot holes, he has to think his way out of sticky situations.

There's a lot for girls to like about this Bond, and there's also lots of cleavage for guys to stare at. Wow, I almost thought Eva was going to have a wardrobe malfunction at more than a few points in the movie. Her dress was very loose.

Anyway, it was money well spent and I'm glad we went. Bond is Back!

New Look aka Blogger Beta

Wow, it seems like everytime I go to write on this blog, that it seems longer and longer since the last time I wrote. This time, 2 months? Is that possible? Haven't really done much since my last blog post except for reading, and I haven't gotten any new music since the last review, so there really hasn't been much for me to post about.

Well, there is NaNoWriMo which I did participate in. I want to thank everyone involved for the support, though I must say that I cannot continue with it as I feel too rushed and too stressed. I will continue working on the story on my leisure which I will enjoy doing far more knowing I'm not on a deadline. While I'm no longer doing it, I want to say that I have a lot more respect for those who go through with it year after year. It really is quite an amazing accomplishment. You know who you are ;)

I've moved this blog over to Blogger Beta, and unfortunately meant I had to ditch my beautiful template and had to choose between a limited choice of templates due to the big overhaul between the template system. On the other hand, things are much easier to tinker with, which is a definite plus. I'm liking it so far. On the bottom of each post, you'll notice labels. These labels allow me to put posts in different catagories, which make it easier to search for something specific down the road, or if you just want to read book or music posts. I like those too because it allows me to see just how many of each kind of post I've made over the years.