Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays...

...whatever might be your salutation of choice. I have a few friends to whom I'm not always sure what to say, but they're generally non-confrontational enough that it doesn't really matter (because we're friends, isn't that the point?) It always seems to be a big issue in the media around here every year, letters to the editor and columnists weighing in. I can recall attending a Guiding District meeting (years ago, when I was actually still a leader not a "member at large" or hanger-on or whatever I'm classified as now), where one of the Brownie leaders was complaining that she couldn't do any Christmas stuff with her unit because she had a number of Jewish girls in the group - another Brownie leader from a different unit piped up that her solution was that they did Christmas stuff in the spirit of learning about it (rather than forcing it down others' throats), and they invited some of the Jewish moms to come in and do Hanukkah stuff as well, as a learning experience for all. I thought that was a brilliant solution, including everyone rather than ignoring what is important to people for the sake of trying not to offend others. Just because I wish you "Merry Christmas" doesn't mean I'm trying to convert you to Christianity against your will (which is ludicrous anyway, seeing as I'm really not religious) - it just means I want to give you good wishes for this season.

I couldn't help thinking of the song The Christians and the Pagans by Dar Williams (album = Mortal City), that I first heard years ago when she played at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival (I think I'll have to start going to that again, BTW - lots of good times, good music, and very broad definition of folk music). It's a humorous song, with a good message for this time of year:

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
Lighting trees in darkness, learning new ways from the old, and
Making sense of history and drawing warmth out of the cold.

On an unrelated note, I was chatting with someone the other day, who asked if I was freaked out by something that was said ... I replied that because of all the crazy things I've seen and heard in my job, nothing really freaks me out anymore, but I had forgotten about this, so I guess I was wrong. Some friends who live in Spruce Grove were talking about this case last week at dinner, how there were lots of rumours but no one ever did anything, how all the students thought this teacher was the greatest (and perhaps still do) ... how could anyone abuse their position of power so enormously?

"He was extremely well liked, he was an excellent teacher and a lot was overlooked because of his excellent personality," the mother of his older victim said Tuesday.

Colby Cosh points out how overuse of the tradition of flying a flag at half-mast has "ruined the ceremonious pleasure of the flag for everyone", with which I would agree.

And still more off-topic, Andrew Coyne is blogging again - hooray!

I was sad yesterday...

The "Ultimate Hockey Mom" (as our local paper put it), Phyllis Gretzky, passed away the other day from complications of cancer, and I was sad yesterday. It makes you realize how important Gretzky (or hockey in general?) is to Canadians when we all seem to care so much about his family too... (though I recall one of the comedy shows joking about this a while back, probably when there was the TV movie about Wayne's dad, just can't find the clip).

I think yesterday was also my annual "feel guilty at Christmas because we have so much and others have so little, so why are we buying more stuff"-ruminations; normally I guess I'm busy working and don't have so much time to think about it. It's typically the time when I wonder if I should instead be going to a Third World country to do volunteer work or to change my life in some such meaningful way ... but I never do. (well, I guess I changed my life by vowing never to be so busy again at work that I can't keep in touch with friends and family, that's meaningful).

And I'm a bit angry today - looks good for Canada around the world, doesn't it, when a guy who nearly killed another player gets selected for the Olympic team, way to go Bert.

More film reviews...

well, at least short snappers...

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002, director Lone Scherfig) - Wilbur keeps trying to commit suicide so his brother Harbour has Wilbur live with him for a while, Harbour falls in love with and marries Alice, but Wilbur starts to have feelings for Alice as well and finds a reason to live... sounds overall depressing to describe, but quite uplifting in the end. I found myself wondering if it was wrong to laugh at Wilbur's ineffectual suicide attempts and therapy sessions, and if it was wrong to be happy for Wilbur in the end (there was somewhat of a moral dilemma and twist involved). I enjoyed it very much.

Les Triplettes des Belleville (2003, animated) - I loved the song "Swinging Belleville Rendezvous" when I heard it at the Oscars (nominated for best song and best animated film that year), so had it on my list of movies to see eventually. Then when I became interested in cycling and realized that this film was about cycling (to a certain extent), I thought I have to see this. Plus, I'm kind of on a Canadian-kick right now and this was a Canadian -French-Belgian co-production... I found the pacing a bit strange at times (maybe I was biased because the librarian warned me of this when I borrowed it), but it was interesting overall. Madame Souza's grandson, a cyclist, is kidnapped during the Tour de France, so she has to rescue him with the help of the Belleville triplets singing group. I thought the exaggerations within the animation were fascinating - the skin and bones cyclists (except for their huge leg muscles), the really large size of everyone in Belleville (which seemed to be symbolic for the excesses of the western world I thought), the cycling scenes (especially when Champion is training up a steep hill and seems to barely be getting up it - but his grandmother behind him on a tricycle has no difficulty). I couldn't help but think of Michael Rasmussen, winner of the King of the Mountains jersey in this year's Tour de France, when Champion was weighing his food at dinner (plus the "skin and bones" aspect).

Les Invasions Barbaires (2003, director Denys Arcand) – Another Canadian film, since it won the Oscar for best foreign-film I thought I should probably see this. And since it was a continuation, 17 years later, of Arcand’s film “The Decline of the American Empire” from 1986 I thought perhaps I should see that first. I couldn’t actually get through Decline though, found it boring and not funny (supposed to be a comedy) – maybe it just seemed really dated, I’m not sure. So, I started into the Barbarian Invasions with great trepidation – but I really enjoyed it. It raised interesting questions about the meaning of one’s life plus end of life issues like euthanasia; and it was pertinent to the issues facing our Canadian health-care system when Rémy’s son Sébastien is paying for him to have tests done in the US and bribing officials to get his father a private room on an unused floor. It also raised issues about the quality of palliative care when Sébastien had to go to the street to get heroin to help his father cope with pain. The scenes with the narcotic officers were quite amusing, as was the scene when the doctor did his entire visit and examination but then it became apparent he had no idea who the patient was (you’d think everyone would know who was on the special floor); also the depiction of the unions and the hospital administration was hilarious. Very strange to me to see Mitsou in a dramatic-type role though – “Bye Bye Mon Cowboy” started running through my head…

Long Way Round (2004) – Not exactly a film but a TV series/DVD, about Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s motorcycle trip from London to New York via Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia, Alaska, and Canada. I really enjoyed this, not just as a travel or adventure show (maybe my 1/8 Norwegian explorer heritage was coming out), but to see their struggles and emotions as the trip became quite difficult. It was also fascinating to see the different people they encountered and how friendly and helpful the majority were – there’s so many awful things reported in the news these days that you really tend to distrust any strangers any more, and yet they often had to depend and rely on total strangers to get through. The UNICEF bits were quite informative and touching, makes you realize how lucky we have things in Canada (or the “developed world” in general).

Skiing medal haul this weekend for Canada...

(trying to stay away from politics for a while, 'cause I'm sick of them all :-) )

First there was Beckie Scott taking the silver in the women's 10 km XC-ski freestyle World Cup race in Canmore on Thursday.

Then, on Friday Erik Guay became the first Canadian to win multiple medals in Super G with a silver at Val Gardena. He followed that up with a bronze in the downhill the next day (and rookie Sherry Lawrence made the Olympic team by finishing 11th in the Val d'Isere downhill).

Plus, Beckie Scott won the 15 km XC-ski classical World Cup race at Canmore yesterday, and Sara Renner came 6th for her best-ever distance result.

Then today, Francois Bourque came third in the men's GS at Alta Badia, and Emily Brydon came 3rd in the Super G at Val d'Isere for 3 Canadians in the top 10/4 in the top 16.

So maybe, those predictions of the COC that Canada would be on top of the overall medal count in Vancouver in 2010 aren't so unbelievable after all...

(addendum - Beckie and Sara came 2nd in the team relay in Canmore today as well!)

Martin confused over Iraq?

In last night's debate, on the issue of sending Canadian troops to Iraq, Paul Martin insisted that he had never suggested doing this nor even considered it. Stephen Harper quoted a page from the former American ambassador's book that stated otherwise. Later in the evening, the Liberals issued a press release claiming that Stephen Harper was lying - yet the press release quoted the section from Celluci's book stating that Paul Martin had in fact contemplated sending Canadian troops to Iraq (so, in essence, they confirmed Stephen Harper's point rather than making one of their own). News release and quotes from the book and the debate at Inkless Wells.

(addendum - Liberals later tried to clarify, via Inkless Wells again, that they were differentiating between the initial invasion of Iraq and sending troops afterwards, I'm not sure most Canadians really care about the difference).

(Oh, and I was trying to be a dutiful citizen last night by watching the debate - even played "Give 'Em the Boot Bingo" - I wish that "fundamentally" was on the card multiple times because Martin certainly says it a lot!)

A politician I respect, and a comedian I love

I was going to write solely today about Ed Broadbent's comments today in the Journal (and I'm sure other CanWest Global papers), about his frustrations over the years with our current electoral system and discussing other options besides first-past-the-post. I have always liked and respected Broadbent (maybe because I "came of age" during the Mulroney years...), even if I don't always agree with some of his party's policies (remember, I'm supposed to vote for the Bloc!). I was sad when he retired, happy when he "unretired", and sad that he's leaving again. I too am frustrated with our electoral system - it really doesn't matter who I vote for (election prediction coming), I'm in Alberta so I can already tell you that my MP will once again be Conservative Rona Ambrose (who is a very likable and intelligent person, regardless of what you think of Conservatives in general).

But then, I read something that I also had to mention today - trust Rick Mercer to find a way to liven things up even though his show's on break until after Christmas. You may have heard about top Liberal aide Scott Reid's criticism of the Conservative child-care plan, saying that the proposed child-care allowance could be used by parents to buy "beer and popcorn". Angry outrage has now included a petition at kidsnotbeer.com. But, now Rick Mercer has decided to protest the obvious "anti-beer agenda" on his blog, and he has created his own petition at http://www.beernotkids.com/. If you remember Rick's last petition, I think this one will be bigger than Stockwell Day changing his name to Doris - I just wish his show was on this week so that we could see Mercer rant about this...(I had no luck in trying to find the Stockwell/Doris rant clip online...)

“Give’em the Boot” Bingo

Thanks to the NDP website (via Warren Kinsella), here's a game to play during the leaders' debate on Friday when you're thinking to yourself, "Didn't Paul Martin say that last time?" - cross off each phrase on the bingo card as he says it during the debate. Featuring such Paul Martin specials as "Make no mistake", "I've got to tell you", and the recently-famous "fundamentally".

More non-mainstream sports

Congratulations to Beckie Scott and Sara Renner for winning gold and bronze in the cross-country skiing World Cup race in Vernon yesterday (Scott also came 2nd the day before), looking good for next week's World Cup races in Canmore Alberta (I wanted to go but something else came up), and also looking good for the Olympics. Maybe this time Beckie will get the experience of actually standing on the gold-medal podium at the Olympics instead of having to wait a few years before doping disqualifications gave her the gold medal.

And way to go, Brad Gushue and team for winning the curling Olympic trials. Obviously it was a good decision to add the experienced Russ Howard (pretty much twice their age as Gushue's only 25) to the team, and great to see that they can get along and work together well despite the age difference. Congratulations to Shannon Kleibrink of Calgary as well for winning on the women's side.

Movie Review

One thing I've realized over the last few years is that there have been movies I wanted to see but either didn't have anyone to go with or never got around to seeing them. So, I'm trying to take some time now to watch some of them. I'll post some comments here about what I've watched.

Someone recommended to me a film from 2002, Man Without a Past by director Aki Kaurismäki. I watched it the other day - the basic story is a man travels to Helsinki to find work, and is mugged right away causing him to lose his memory. He leaves the hospital after being presumed dead, and works to recreate a new life. Some thoughts I had during and after watching:
-my first reaction was with the initial mugging scene, made me think how “violence” in other movies/TV shows is often camouflaged or indirect or sugar-coated somehow in that few/no details are actually shown. (I was a bit concerned at that point about what the rest of the movie would be like). It was a similar reaction actually to when I attended a junior hockey game in Red Deer and we sat in the corner near the boards, it was a lot more violent from that perspective, as was watching the Grey Cup on TV from the overhead cable camera. I guess it’s easier to watch if you aren’t reminded how violent it truly is, does that make me a hypocrite to watch hockey/football?

I loved the humour in scenes such as meeting Hannibal the “attack dog”, the Salvation Army band on the couch listening to rock music (and slowly starting to get into it/move with the music), the lawyer suddenly appearing to the police station and getting him out then giving him a cigar, the bank robber later apologizing and asking a favour. (and for some reason, when the SA band was singing their Christian songs then a mention of there being strict rules about music … I thought about the propaganda state of North Korea and the constant mentions of Kim Jong-Il/Kim Il-Sung, in a humourous comparison sort of way).

The idea/theme of being alienated or stigmatized because you’re different in some way (e.g., job agency wouldn’t help because no name, police assumed he did something wrong, even the doctor didn’t put much effort into his care before declaring him dead ;-) ) and falling through the cracks of bureaucracy as a result strikes a personal chord for me. There is someone I know who could be so bitter about how his life has turned out (because of mental illness in this case) and yet he isn’t and instead he finds joy in small things like finding 4-leaf clovers or watching lightning storms. (just like the people in the movie, on the fringes of society living in their containers/dumpsters yet all seem friendly/helpful/hopeful, using phrases like “going out for dinner” and dressing up to go to the soup kitchen.)

Also the recurrent idea of starting over/a new life/doing things differently hit home personally – obviously there was M, who went forward rather than trying to figure out the past, but also he was able to help others do something different (Irma to experience love, the SA band to widen their musical horizons, his neighbours to experience a concert nearby). The ending has a twist I won't reveal here - ask me if you'd like.

I really enjoyed this movie and it made me realize how perhaps I've been missing out by really only seeing Star Wars/Lord of the Rings/Matrix and similar over the last few years.

A Nobel Laureate speaks ...

Harold Pinter has used his Nobel lecture (via video) to deliver an attack on US foreign policy. A writer at the Guardian describes how the speech "relied on Pinter's theatrical sense, in particular his ability to use irony, rhetoric and humour, to make its point."

The most humorous aspect I found (full text of speech here) was when he volunteered to be a speechwriter for President Bush and came up with this potential TV address:

'God is good. God is great. God is good. My God is good. Bin Laden's God is bad. His is a bad God. Saddam's God was bad, except he didn't have one. He was a barbarian. We are not barbarians. We don't chop people's heads off. We believe in freedom. So does God. I am not a barbarian. I am the democratically elected leader of a freedom-loving democracy. We are a compassionate society. We give compassionate electrocution and compassionate lethal injection. We are a great nation. I am not a dictator. He is. I am not a barbarian. He is. And he is. They all are. I possess moral authority. You see this fist? This is my moral authority. And don't you forget it.'

Why Oilers' fans boo Mike Comrie...

(...as explanation for our actions in Vancouver while watching the Canucks-Coyotes game with friends a few weekends ago).

This article in today's Edmonton Journal reports on the top 100 richest Canadians. At 79th is Brick furniture store founder Bill Comrie, father to former Oiler and current Phoenix Coyote Mike Comrie:

Another Edmontonian on the list, the Brick's Bill Comrie is listed in 79th spot this year, down from his ranking of 72 last year, with estimated assets of $471 million, down from $479 million.

Seeing as Mike was considered a "hometown hero", I guess it really rankled when he didn't play well then couldn't agree on a new contract so demanded to be traded. I mean, I can understand you want to make it on your own and not rely on your dad, but the average person probably just sees him as not your average greedy pro athlete but an exceptionally greedy one, coming from a family with that kind of money.

And in other hockey news, I really hope Mario's ok...

Paul Martin's campaign

From a journalist covering the Paul Martin campaign, this description and photo expressing his feelings (while he was stuck watching Martin read to kids at a school).

So happy I'm in tears...

I've mentioned here before that I'm not actually working at present, that I left my family practice after October; in January I will start doing locums to get a more flexible schedule/better hours/avoid burnout/etc. I also mentioned that we're hoping to start a family. I've told friends how the two are actually connected - it's been over two years since we started trying, figured maybe the stress of my prior job wasn't really helping - sometimes you start to lose hope (especially after an "almost" in October). Well, my hope is restored today in that I finally got an appointment at the Fertility Clinic for January (we've been waiting since August, I was thinking I wouldn't get in until April or something, didn't want to bug them too much because I've seen how sometimes that actually backfires on patients - yes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease at times, but other times it gets you a bad reputation and being put at the bottom of the pile, sorry to say). So, hopefully it won't come to that - but Plan B is now securely in place and I feel very hopeful and happy right now.

(I never meant to get so personal here - oh well, it feels good to say something somewhere to someone).

Double-standard in media political reporting?

Oh, no, it can't be! But Toronto Sun columnist Lorrie Goldstein argues (fairly convincingly) that there is an obvious pro-Liberal media bias in the coverage of the federal election campaign. Which is probably why I read more than just the mainstream media. I might actually be a Liberal were it not for Paul Martin and the party's seemingly entrenched corruption and sense of entitlement, the "natural governing party" if you will (I hope I'm not starting to sound like Rex Murphy...) Of course, as I mentioned a few days ago, I should be voting for Duceppe and the Bloc (only problem being they don't run in Alberta).

Did you remember?

Today is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. I remember it being very scary, as a 2nd year undergrad science student with a number of female friends in engineering, to hear that so many women were murdered at a university in Montreal simply because they were women.

Peace, order and rocky government

After calling Canada "cool" in 2003, the Economist has a less favourable article about Canada, due to "three very real threats to Canada's welfare that require energetic attention: the "threatening weather systems'' of western alienation, Quebec separatism and deteriorating U.S. relations." (from the CanWest Global article about the article). An interesting viewpoint and summary of current Canadian politics, I thought...

This part actually represents part of my concern and dilemma in terms of Canadian politics right now:

But the affair points to a deeper malaise in Canada's politics. It is worrying that the Conservatives are considered unable to win even when the Liberals are laid low by scandal. Long periods of domination by a single party are not good for the health of any democracy, let alone one in which power at the national level is highly centralised. Canada's prime minister enjoys remarkable powers of patronage: it was, for example, Mr Martin who appointed Canada's glamorous new governor-general. He also controls appointments to the Supreme Court and the Senate. Such a system would matter less if there were more frequent rotation in government. Why is there so little?

Finding an Angle In Every Shot

This is an interesting article in the Washington Post about presidential photography, media manipulation and propaganda...

CFL's worst-kept secret - Goodbye Jason, and thanks!

It's official today, Jason Maas has been traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. While I think it's great he'll get the chance to be a starting QB, we'll miss him as he's a class act (and we wouldn't have got to the Grey Cup without him). To Ti-cat fans, take care of him, please!

Torstar buys 20% of Bell Globemedia

Details in this article (found via Antonia Zerbisias's blog) - this means that the parent company of the Toronto Star (Zerb's employer), now owns 20% of one of their rival newspapers, the Globe and Mail (as well as CTV, TSN, etc). Hmm... look what happened to another media conglomeration.

Why I like to read

Some recent gems I've noted in my local paper and other sources, I wish I could write like this:

Todd Babiak, in an Edmonton Journal review of the Grey Cup halftime show the other day:

The Grey Cup is one of few national traditions we have left, along with doing poorly in the Olympics and voting for idiots.

Dan Barnes, in the Journal Sports section today, about Gilles Duceppe's idea that Quebec should get its own hockey team for international tournaments:

Hockey, strangely enough, acts as the catalyst that brings all Canadians together, regardless of linguistic preference and proficiency, in their love of the game and disdain for Todd Bertuzzi. And Sean Avery. And the Bruins' third jersey.

He went on to refer to "the official language of hockey, a mix of cliches and expletives".

And Monte Solberg weighs in on the Joe Thornton trade (you'd think Monte had other things to do, like campaign or something, he's only the Opposition Finance Critic...):

Trade Joe Thornton?
Sure why not, and why don't you also just pull my heart from my chest and tap dance on it.
I'd be less shocked if you went to the fireplace, grabbed the poker and stroked me across the forehead.
Let's see here. Joe is the heart of the Bruins, and I bleed Bruin gold and black, all of which explains why I am laying in the fetal position on the floor in my furnace room, right beside the pile of oily rags. Say it aint so Joe.

In his next entry (back to campaigning), he mentions the trade again,

But I had a good three or four minutes of sleep and now feel like I could run to Boston where I would like to track down Harry Sinden and Mike O'Connell and peel them both like bananas.

Finally, from Inkless Wells , it seems politicians are missing the real issues - dog-attacking squirrels in Russia.

Random thoughts late at night...

I went from sleeping lots (too much I thought) in early November when I was first off work, to waking up early (like 5 am) in the mornings and not being able to get back to sleep, to now staying up way too late and sleeping in late again. I guess for now it doesn't matter much, but I'll have to get more disciplined about sleep schedules before going back to work next month...

There were 2 articles in today's paper that I found interesting, both about scientific studies, and as it turns out, both summarized in this one article from the Chicago Tribune. The top part is about how caffeine has been found to specifically help with short-term memory (I like the part about how Americans consume three times the world average for caffeine and the writer's implication as to why):

Now a team of Austrian researchers using advanced brain imaging technology has discovered that caffeine makes people more alert by perking up part of the brain involved in short-term memory, the kind that helps focus attention on the tasks at hand.

And Americans seem most in need of concentrating their thoughts, since their average daily consumption of 236 milligrams of caffeine, equivalent to more than 4.5 cups of coffee, is three times the world average.

The bottom part of the article describes how researchers "found that marijuana smoking may increase the risk of schizophrenia in people who have a genetic susceptibility to the disease." For those of you who know my family history, you'll realize why this is of interest to me. (edit - no, I'm not a pot-smoker worried about developing schizophrenia - just wondering about someone else...)

And, on an election note (besides the Conservatives' promise to reduce the GST), I found this "VoteSelector Quiz" at PoliticsWatch.com. Yes, it's from last election, but I don't think the party platforms have really changed that much to make a big difference. You answer a number of questions and they tell you which party/leader your views are most closely aligned with. So should I be concerned that each time I've gone through the questions, I'm most closely aligned with Gilles Duceppe and the Bloc Quebecois ???

(BTW, thanks to anyone who's actually reading this - if there's anyone other than my dad, my husband, Geri and Kara ;-), please e-mail to let me know or leave a comment).

Way to go Eric!

Canadian skier Eric Guay came 2nd in today's World Cup Super-G in
Colorado!

(another of my non-mainstream sports that I follow - at least this one gets TV coverage in Canada)