Update:
She said yes!
In other news,
...
...
nope. can't think of much else worthy of reporting.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Ill-fitting Canadiana
Last night the Vancouver Canucks were defeated in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They were shut out by a supremely talented goalie and solid defenders. And they simply didn't play as well as the Bruins did. The Yanks deserved to win the cup. In fact, when the cup goes on tour to players' hometowns, it'll spend more time in Canada than it would have if Vancouver had won because there are a lot of Canadians who play for Boston.
Hardly soothes the sting of losing, though. The team that quite literally bears the name of the entire nation, the city that was our face in the Olympics - in the moment where it counted they couldn't bring it. Maybe next year. Worked for the Penguins.
I watched something today that hurt me more than watching the yellow-and black clad crushers of a national dream skate jubilantly around our ice rink carrying Lord Stanley's cup. Today I read the news and watched the videos of the riots downtown after the game.
I am ashamed of being Canadian. It's not even as easy as saying that those were some stupid drunk guys who took this too seriously. As a nation, we would have owned the victory. We would have owned the celebration and communal spirit. We would have owned the party. It behooves us to own the shame of this moment. Like it or not, these people represented us to the world and the image sticks.
I think sometimes we become too willing to distance ourselves from people we are associated with the moment they do something that's hugely inappropriate. We decide that they were never really part of the group. That way, the polluting image of their wrongdoing can seem like it settles more distantly from us. I run into this same problem every time some nutjob preacher in the South goes postal and starts burning Korans or protesting at grave sites or sleeping with prostitutes. It is too easy to say that he doesn't represent me. He does! He waves the same flag and calls himself the same name. It ought to break my heart and upset me that people misrepresent Christians that way. And it ought to break our heart; it ought to matter that Canada was so crudely misrepresented last night.
Here's the big newsflash, of course: it's not like it's the first time I've been ashamed of the maple leaf. I've been ashamed of this country, and I don't think it makes me less of a patriot to say so. I have been ashamed of this country when they ignored their own history and political system and re-elected criminals into our highest political offices. I have been ashamed of this country when it sat idly by and did nothing to ease the suffering of victims of war and turmoil in sub-Saharan Africa but jumped at the chance to be dragged into the Afghan quagmire. I was ashamed when I learned about the ongoing every-day injustices visited on our First Peoples by our governments' continuing unwillingness to follow our own laws and fulfill our own legal treaties. I was ashamed to learn that Canada was the only western non-communist nation in the UN to not ratify the UN Declaration of Human Rights when it came out this century. I was ashamed when Habs fans booed the American national anthem when they played against Boston a couple years ago in the playoffs. I was ashamed when the videos and interviews of one of our Olympic gold medalists revolved around a massive party and an equally massive stein of ale. Canadians are not good people just because they're Canadians. In fact, being Canadian may make you "peaceful" or friendly, but only because Canadians are apathetic. Canada is one of the most difficult and infertile places for the spread of the gospel. No one in this country actually cares about anything. And that is shameful. We own that.
On July 1st I'll be wearing my Canada t-shirt and waving my flag and singing along with Stompin' Tom Connors like the rest of us. But I'll do so knowing that this present shame is partly mine for waving the same flag as the ignorant and indulgent morons who lit cars on fire yesterday. The same maple syrup flows through my veins. Maybe it's about time everybody stopped trying to distance themselves from the stupid people and started wondering whether we might be taking our sports so seriously because we choose to not care about things that matter.
Hardly soothes the sting of losing, though. The team that quite literally bears the name of the entire nation, the city that was our face in the Olympics - in the moment where it counted they couldn't bring it. Maybe next year. Worked for the Penguins.
I watched something today that hurt me more than watching the yellow-and black clad crushers of a national dream skate jubilantly around our ice rink carrying Lord Stanley's cup. Today I read the news and watched the videos of the riots downtown after the game.
I am ashamed of being Canadian. It's not even as easy as saying that those were some stupid drunk guys who took this too seriously. As a nation, we would have owned the victory. We would have owned the celebration and communal spirit. We would have owned the party. It behooves us to own the shame of this moment. Like it or not, these people represented us to the world and the image sticks.
I think sometimes we become too willing to distance ourselves from people we are associated with the moment they do something that's hugely inappropriate. We decide that they were never really part of the group. That way, the polluting image of their wrongdoing can seem like it settles more distantly from us. I run into this same problem every time some nutjob preacher in the South goes postal and starts burning Korans or protesting at grave sites or sleeping with prostitutes. It is too easy to say that he doesn't represent me. He does! He waves the same flag and calls himself the same name. It ought to break my heart and upset me that people misrepresent Christians that way. And it ought to break our heart; it ought to matter that Canada was so crudely misrepresented last night.
Here's the big newsflash, of course: it's not like it's the first time I've been ashamed of the maple leaf. I've been ashamed of this country, and I don't think it makes me less of a patriot to say so. I have been ashamed of this country when they ignored their own history and political system and re-elected criminals into our highest political offices. I have been ashamed of this country when it sat idly by and did nothing to ease the suffering of victims of war and turmoil in sub-Saharan Africa but jumped at the chance to be dragged into the Afghan quagmire. I was ashamed when I learned about the ongoing every-day injustices visited on our First Peoples by our governments' continuing unwillingness to follow our own laws and fulfill our own legal treaties. I was ashamed to learn that Canada was the only western non-communist nation in the UN to not ratify the UN Declaration of Human Rights when it came out this century. I was ashamed when Habs fans booed the American national anthem when they played against Boston a couple years ago in the playoffs. I was ashamed when the videos and interviews of one of our Olympic gold medalists revolved around a massive party and an equally massive stein of ale. Canadians are not good people just because they're Canadians. In fact, being Canadian may make you "peaceful" or friendly, but only because Canadians are apathetic. Canada is one of the most difficult and infertile places for the spread of the gospel. No one in this country actually cares about anything. And that is shameful. We own that.
On July 1st I'll be wearing my Canada t-shirt and waving my flag and singing along with Stompin' Tom Connors like the rest of us. But I'll do so knowing that this present shame is partly mine for waving the same flag as the ignorant and indulgent morons who lit cars on fire yesterday. The same maple syrup flows through my veins. Maybe it's about time everybody stopped trying to distance themselves from the stupid people and started wondering whether we might be taking our sports so seriously because we choose to not care about things that matter.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Six Words
I was just speaking with my Mum about a book she lent to me entitled "I Can't Keep My Own Secrets". It's a collection of 6-word memoirs written by a host of teenagers, some of them famous. I was initially a little sceptical, although the one they chose for the title is really interesting. The editor claims that the inspiration came from a contest Earnest Hemingway contributed to for 6-word novels. He wrote: "For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn."
I know. Epic.
The book is filled with really fantastic memoirs that just scream out so much more story behind their words. Some of my favourites are:
Met online; love before first sight.
My art was better than me.
Hair's pink to piss you off.
I drank sweet tea and cried.
So I thought it might be cool to try it. The 6 word memoir. Except the problem is I don't know where I'd start with encapsulating the whole story in 6 words. I'd rather try one story at a time and work my way up to it. So I think I'll throw one out here every now and again, as I catch the muse, to try and sum up at least the story that's on my mind that day.
Here goes:
23 years old. Grey like Dad.
Let me know what you think
I know. Epic.
The book is filled with really fantastic memoirs that just scream out so much more story behind their words. Some of my favourites are:
Met online; love before first sight.
My art was better than me.
Hair's pink to piss you off.
I drank sweet tea and cried.
So I thought it might be cool to try it. The 6 word memoir. Except the problem is I don't know where I'd start with encapsulating the whole story in 6 words. I'd rather try one story at a time and work my way up to it. So I think I'll throw one out here every now and again, as I catch the muse, to try and sum up at least the story that's on my mind that day.
Here goes:
23 years old. Grey like Dad.
Let me know what you think
News - June 9th
Hello webodrome!
Been a while. Here's the big stories, in a nutshell:
Graduation - Just got back last night from mine and Alyssa's BEd Grad. It was an OK ceremony, but I was quite profoundly upset by the honorary degree recipient's speech. Actually, to qualify that: I was upset by the introduction to the honorary degree recipient's speech. The actual guy, a certain Grand Chief of the local first nations people in the area, had some very provocative and encouraging things to say, even if my natural inclination is to urge people making a speech at a grad ceremony to not just seize upon the microphone as a license to extoll their mandate. It wasn't that bad. No, but the local area chief who introduced him did not just take as long as the recipients speech, but read the program aloud to an audience roasting in their chairs and also told a number of stories only barely describing his character and at least one of which being massively offensive and inappropriate, no matter the public function.
But I digress. Crossing the stage is cool and it was nice to get a handshake from the President again. Mostly it was nice to get the piece of paper. it looks nice on my shelf next to the undergrad. If anyone knows how to do degree framing that's classy but inexpensive, drop me a line or comment or something.
Work - I'm not doing much of it right now, though I have solid leads for supply teaching in summer school as well as maybe a little part time census enumerator work. So one way or another I'll keep myself busy in July. It wouldn't be very professional of me to comment on my current tutoring client's progress, but since exams are on the rather imminent horizon I'm sure anyone would expect tension levels to be high.
Love - She's far away and I miss her. Even though I saw her yesterday.
Hobbies - My novel has completely failed to progress so far this spring despite my most earnest expectations of it growing in leaps and bounds. I know I'm more than half-way, but I haven't really planned out the next few chapters in much detail and so I feel more improvisational than normal whenever I open it up to poke at it. I rode my bike a bit today. Or, rather, I stumbled off my bike, walked it to the gas station to fill up the very flat tires, got back on, rode to the bank, discovering that the tires were not by far the biggest problem, and walked it most of the way back from the drugstore internally debating whether or not I'll need it that much this summer anyway. It's probably worth the bother to tighten things up, but I can only go cap in hand to my Dad to ask him to help me fix things before I begin to feel anemic and incompetent. Which, to be fair, I am if I can't even fix my own bicycle.
The Excellent Adventure Preparation - is continuing well. I am given to understand that most of my papers are in good order, and short of finding a flat to live in (which at this time of year would be impractical even if I were only moving to Mississauga) I'm well on my way to moving successfully.
Film Review: Planet of the Apes. There are a lot of primates in this movie and many of them talk. The ones that don't talk can fly spaceships. Riddle me that one, Batman. I only made it halfway through but my initial reactions are not good, and I begin to suspect that I ought to have watched this when it first came out and not so many years after the fact.
This about concludes the news thus far. 'Til the next time I manage to muster my creative faculties, Ciao!
Been a while. Here's the big stories, in a nutshell:
Graduation - Just got back last night from mine and Alyssa's BEd Grad. It was an OK ceremony, but I was quite profoundly upset by the honorary degree recipient's speech. Actually, to qualify that: I was upset by the introduction to the honorary degree recipient's speech. The actual guy, a certain Grand Chief of the local first nations people in the area, had some very provocative and encouraging things to say, even if my natural inclination is to urge people making a speech at a grad ceremony to not just seize upon the microphone as a license to extoll their mandate. It wasn't that bad. No, but the local area chief who introduced him did not just take as long as the recipients speech, but read the program aloud to an audience roasting in their chairs and also told a number of stories only barely describing his character and at least one of which being massively offensive and inappropriate, no matter the public function.
But I digress. Crossing the stage is cool and it was nice to get a handshake from the President again. Mostly it was nice to get the piece of paper. it looks nice on my shelf next to the undergrad. If anyone knows how to do degree framing that's classy but inexpensive, drop me a line or comment or something.
Work - I'm not doing much of it right now, though I have solid leads for supply teaching in summer school as well as maybe a little part time census enumerator work. So one way or another I'll keep myself busy in July. It wouldn't be very professional of me to comment on my current tutoring client's progress, but since exams are on the rather imminent horizon I'm sure anyone would expect tension levels to be high.
Love - She's far away and I miss her. Even though I saw her yesterday.
Hobbies - My novel has completely failed to progress so far this spring despite my most earnest expectations of it growing in leaps and bounds. I know I'm more than half-way, but I haven't really planned out the next few chapters in much detail and so I feel more improvisational than normal whenever I open it up to poke at it. I rode my bike a bit today. Or, rather, I stumbled off my bike, walked it to the gas station to fill up the very flat tires, got back on, rode to the bank, discovering that the tires were not by far the biggest problem, and walked it most of the way back from the drugstore internally debating whether or not I'll need it that much this summer anyway. It's probably worth the bother to tighten things up, but I can only go cap in hand to my Dad to ask him to help me fix things before I begin to feel anemic and incompetent. Which, to be fair, I am if I can't even fix my own bicycle.
The Excellent Adventure Preparation - is continuing well. I am given to understand that most of my papers are in good order, and short of finding a flat to live in (which at this time of year would be impractical even if I were only moving to Mississauga) I'm well on my way to moving successfully.
Film Review: Planet of the Apes. There are a lot of primates in this movie and many of them talk. The ones that don't talk can fly spaceships. Riddle me that one, Batman. I only made it halfway through but my initial reactions are not good, and I begin to suspect that I ought to have watched this when it first came out and not so many years after the fact.
This about concludes the news thus far. 'Til the next time I manage to muster my creative faculties, Ciao!
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