Being a fan of the reality television series, Jon and Kate plus 8, I obviously couldn’t escape the flood of tabloid and news concerning the couple’s maritial troubles. (If you have no clue what the show Jon and Kate plus 8 is about, it’s just a TV series about this family of ten — two parents, a set of twins and a set of sextuplets.) Whenever I go to the supermarket or drugstore, I am bombarded with pictures of the family with giant headlines saying that Jon cheated on Kate or vice versa. No, I do not read these articles, but oddly enough, you always seem to get the gist of everything that is written in a tabloid magazine by looking at its cover. There is also the fact that you can’t help but think that people actually took the time to write complete and utter… poo. Continue reading “Tabloids: Are they necessary?”
The Non-Geek’s Guide to Sci Fi
In North America, Science Fiction has gotten a pretty dreadful reputation. Not that that’s surprising, considering how much of it deals with scantily-clad princesses hatching evil plans to dominate planets whose names invariably start with the letter “x”. Still, although it’s hard to believe, there is some good Sci Fi out there. This keeps the genre’s staples – aliens, new abilities, time travel – but uses them as nothing more than a backdrop to explore something a lot closer to home. By placing its characters in situations where normal moral guidelines, like legal codes or religious commandments, cease to be applicable, these books, movies, and TV shows take a look at how we treat each other and those who are weaker, more frightening, or simply different. They examine what makes us tick, and test how our decisions and relationships fare under pressure. And, since they’re Sci Fi, the tend to be pretty cool and entertaining too.
The problem is, if you don’t want to get stuck watching the exploits of evil Queen Zelda on planet Xanthon, you need to know where to look. To help you out, here is a beginner’s guide to Sci Fi books and TV shows that will entertain you, make you think and, best of all, won’t embarrass you. Even a little. Continue reading “The Non-Geek’s Guide to Sci Fi”
My experience in the “real world”
Around one year ago, I started my PEY (Professional Experience Year) job at a mid-sized software company in downtown Toronto. It was the first time got a taste of life in a typical office job, surrounded by grey cubicle walls for hours a day. Below is my analysis of a general work experience versus school experience.
School: There is a foreseeable end (graduation).
Work: No foreseeable end, until retirement.
School: Being around people who are your age who have a similar lifestyle as you.
Work: Seeing the same people everyday, some of whom are likely to be significantly older than you. Also, if you don’t happen to get along with one of them, you are basically screwed.
School: Sitting through boring lectures, although you can skip them sometimes (or sleep through).
Work: Sitting through boring meetings that you can’t get out of and have to pay attention in.
School: Being thousands of dollars in debt.
Work: Having a steady income.
Three Cheers for Rah Rah
Last Monday night Regina sextet Rah Rah brought their unique brand of poetic rock (with just a hint alt country) to The Boat in Kensington Market. The audience was treated to some yet-titled works that fit the nautical theme of the venue as well as songs from “Going Steady,” Rah Rah’s 2008 album. More than just your typical rock outfit, the band includes a violinist, singers that can actually sing, and catchy yet artfully crafted songs.
As someone who loves going to shows despite my intense hatred of being jostled in the crush for a stage view, this show was like nothing I’d ever been to before. Outside of being in a restaurant designed to look like a boat (which was apparently jarring to a few people in the audience,) the crowd was small and fairly mellow with a few dancers but the band played their little, Prairie hearts out as if for a packed house of hundreds. If I’d closed my eyes and ignored the smell of fried food being delivered to the audience via confused waitress, I could imagine myself standing in an audience at one of the festivals across Canada that Rah Rah has been so warmly received at.
For the past few years the buzz around the band has been steadily growing and with good reason. Rah Rah’s unpretentious, spunky performance was refreshing and a perfect match for their music. For those not into “indie music,” check your preconceived notions at the door because Rah Rah is a band definitely worth watching… or listening to… or better yet a combination of both.
A little Rah Rah would make a great addition to any summer playlist whether you’re on the road, barbecuing it up at home or relaxing at the cottage; Rah Rah’s music seems to adapt to every mood. Take a listen at http://www.myspace.com/rahrahband
“Tentacles” helped me survive many sleepless nights of essay writing and “Duet for Emmylou and the Grievous Angel” has made me wistful for love in Regina, even though I’ve never been there and have no immediate plans to go.
Rah Rah will be returning to Toronto for North by Northeast (NXNE) on June 18. It’s the perfect opportunity to put that whole watching and listening combo into practice and see if you can resist romanticizing Saskatchewan after seeing them live.
HotDocs 2009 Coverage: When We Were Boys
There is something insurmountably flawed about a cinema verité documentary shot by a female director about and taking place primarily in an all-boys school. Any woman would stick out like a sore thumb, especially one with a video camera and a big boom. How can we possibly trust that what we see unfold on screen is anything but fake or staged, when there is no possible way for the film to be shot unobtrusively in order to ensure that the scenes are purely authentic. At times, When We Were Boys seems horribly stiff and forced; it would be nearly impossible for director Sarah Goodman to maintain the necessary status of fly-on-the-wall in such a situation. If you can’t just take my word for it, take it from my own personal experience. I spent my formative junior high and high schools years at an all-girls institution. And believe me, if a foreign male entered the school grounds, even a 300-pound pock-faced man, everyone would know.
When We Were Boys follows boys at Toronto’s Royal St. George’s College as they progress from grade 8 to grade 10. In particular, we follow Noah, an extremely handsome young St. George’s student, who hails from one of the richest families in the school. His classmates bully him because of his wealth, not physically but with words, calling him “mastercard” or by borrowing money from him which they never intend to repay. Yes, we get it, poor little rich boy.
If you look for the clichéd in a story, it’s almost always possible to find it, especially in a high school documentary. Last year’s documentary hit about high school kids, American Teen, also fell to the same fate: searching for the clichéd, finding it, and lacking any form of insight that one might have hoped for from a documentary about high school kids instead of a fantasy film à la John Hughes (Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, etc). Goodman looks for the clichéd and she finds it. In grade 8, Noah sings soprano in the school choir; by grade 10 he’s become an alto. Shocker: his voice dropped after puberty. The boys read Lord of the Flies in English class and are treated to lectures by their teachers about how the cruelty towards Piggie isn’t so far off from reality; Goodman tries to parallel this with events in the boys’ lives. Continue reading “HotDocs 2009 Coverage: When We Were Boys”
HotDocs 2009 coverage: Ascension
Ascension is a very peculiar, occasionally fascinating, but ultimately not very illuminating, 49-minute montage of archival footage from the Soviet Space Program. The documentary is inexplicably mixed with footage from China during Mao’s reign and various television/film sequences from around the era, compiled in such a fashion to reduce it to a VHS-quality print.
At times the footage shows unexpected insights, as we watch, for example, dogs and chimpanzees get strapped into the vomit comet and spin around in circles, hooked up to an EEG while scientists also monitor the vitals of the animals. Of course, it should not be a huge surprise that such tests took place; after all, we’ve seen the same ones carried out on humans in Apollo 13 and The Right Stuff, yet the footage of Laika and some chimpanzees undergoing these very same tests still comes as a bit of a shock, but an interesting, if not somewhat torturous (the poor animals!) sight to behold. There is one shocking scene in which a rocket is launched just metres away from a group of people, which, unsurprisingly to us, now, did not end well.
Continue reading “HotDocs 2009 coverage: Ascension”
Trip to Taiwan blog – Part V: Parting Shots
Now that I’m back and settled (it took a few days), here are a few parting shots from my trip to Taiwan. Although I did a thematic sweep of the place in my other blog entries, here are some things I wasn’t able to include or just something fun.
Neiwan Bridge Continue reading “Trip to Taiwan blog – Part V: Parting Shots”