I ♥ My Hometown!

Ottawa is a lovely city. Living abroad, I’ve often had people ask me about my hometown, and that’s what I always tell them. I mean it, too. It’s physically beautiful, with an interesting variety of old buildings and lots of green space. It’s big enough to host several museums, historical sites, and festivals, but small enough to feel welcoming and accessible. It has hot summers and cold winters, beautiful spring days and fiery fall colours. It’s a nice place to visit and to live. Though life continues to take me to far-flung locations, it’s still my home, and the place where I eventually want to settle down.

Now life is taking me to the distant land of Japan. I’m going to be there for at least a year: the longest period yet for me to be away. And there’s no guarantee that when I leave I’ll be returning straight home; I may well decide to spend another year or more travelling in the region. So as I prepare to depart once more, I’ve put together a little photo diary of the city. I didn’t get pictures of all the places I wanted to, unfortunately, but I have enough to remind me of what my city is like and why I love it. It’s partly a way to help me remember it while I’m away, but it’s also a record of how the city is now in 2010. Ottawa is a changing city. Most notably, it’s rapidly expanding, with its borders getting ever further out, and new developments being built all the time. It will be interesting to see how many of these pictures still represent Ottawa in a few decades. For now, though, here is my hometown, told as a record of my favourite – and least favourite – Ottawa locations.

South Keys (Least Favourite):

This giant strip mall I’ve nicknamed “Brobdingnag”, because it feels like it was designed for much larger creatures than humans. The façades extend so far up that one has to step off the sidewalk and walk several metres away from the storefronts to read many of the signs, and the complex is so long that it actually fills up the space between two separate Transitway stops!

Rockcliffe (Favourite):

A nice place to go for a drive if you like looking at beautiful houses you’d never be able to afford.

The Museum of Civilization, a.k.a. Le Musée des Civilisations (Favourite):

Okay, technically it’s in Gatineau, but I think most people claim that Québec city as part of Ottawa, anyway. This is a pretty good museum of Canadian culture, with an interactive exhibition on the first nations, and another on the colonial history of the country. The special exhibits are sometimes good, and there’s even an IMAX theatre.

The Market (Favourite):

This is a lovely spot for strolling, shopping, or going out for lunch, and it’s right in the heart of downtown!

The U.S. Embassy (Least Favourite):

This imposing, guarded, and generally unfriendly structure makes no attempt to fit in with its surroundings. Overlooked by palatial structures like the Parliament Buildings and the National Gallery, it has neither charm nor beauty, but sits grumpily and superciliously on Sussex Drive between the ByWard Market and Major’s Hill Park.

The view from the Rideau St. Bridge (Favourite):

Every so often, I find myself walking somewhere, and I have to stop and say to myself “Wow. I live in a really beautiful city!” This is the place where that most often happens.

Parliament Hill (Favourite):

This building is grand-looking enough for our seat of our government, yet not too imposing. Its front lawn welcomes visitors who come to watch the changing of the guard, take in the light show, or participate in the Canada Day celebrations. It’s also a good vantage point for gazing out at the river, and the Peace Tower proclaims the correct time to people in all directions.

The Sparks Street Mall (Favourite):

During my last visit to Ottawa, I heard that this street was on the way down, which is sad. The open mall is a really nice place to eat lunch, shop, or just go for a stroll.

The National Arts Centre (Least Favourite):

Okay, I don’t want to make it sound like I hate the N.A.C. I’m just frustrated by it. I don’t go there that often, and I have nothing to say against its music scene. What I will say, though, is that of the plays I’ve attended there (and there have been several over the years) every one has been a disappointment. As a child I saw lots of good theatre in London, England, and more recently I’ve been to decent productions in cities like Toronto and Vienna. Maybe it’s not fair to expect Ottawa to rival those world-class cities, but there’s definitely room for improvement here. Whether it’s the physical building itself that’s the problem, or simply the quality of the productions, I’m not sure, but a city as culturally rich as Ottawa should be able to do better.

The Ottawa Public Library – Main Branch (Least Favourite):

Other cities I’ve lived in have beautiful central libraries. Vancouver’s has a coliseum theme, while Hong Kong’s is a bright and airy structure overlooking Victoria Park. In contrast, we have the Metcalfe Library, an ugly concrete structure out of the seventies. Such an important institution should add to Ottawa’s beauty, not mar it.

The Ottawa Canal (Favourite):

Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of this in the winter, when you can visit it for beaver tails and skating! Even in the summer, though, it’s a nice place to go for a walk.

The Museum of Nature (Favourite):

This old stone building looks rather wonderfully like a castle. The inside is just as wonderful, full of exhibits about our fascinating natural world. Apparently its location is directly opposite the Parliament Buildings, and I was once told a story about one prime minister wanting to knock down all the intervening buildings and create a direct line of site between the two structures. It’s an impractical plan, of course, but I really wish it wasn’t, because I think it would look quite nice.

The Glebe (Favourite):

A nice, quiet, suburban area with a lot of character. The houses are nice, but not overly-large, and there are lots of interesting stores on Bank Street.

Shoppers Drug Mart – Glebe (Least Favourite):

Ever since the summer I worked as an inventory counter, I’ve had a loathing of this chain, which seems determined to make its presence felt in every corner of the city. Of all the massive stores I’ve been to (stores which, contrary to what the name implies, sell not just drugs but also cosmetics, stationary, books, cameras, and milk), this one is my least favourite. Dominating (as all Shoppers Drug Marts do) the block on which it sits, it forms a kind of corporate blight on an otherwise charming neighbourhood.

The Real Canadian Superstore – Westboro (Least Favourite):

Another store I had the pleasure of counting when I was an inventory clerk, this hypermarket looks like it could keep an army in shelter, food, clothing, prescription drugs, gardening supplies, and greeting cards for a year. Which I’m sure we’ll all appreciate when the nuclear winter sets in, but until then, I don’t see why we need this monstrosity taking up an entire block of Westboro Village.

Island Park Drive (Favourite):

Another nice street full of interesting and unaffordable houses.

Westboro Village (Favourite):

Take a walk around this area and you can see how it could really have been a village once upon a time. Now it contains a few interesting stores, notably one of Ottawa’s Ten Thousand Villages.

The Parkway (Favourite):

This strip of greenery and roadway runs along the north edge of the city, where it meets the Ottawa river. It’s a lovely place to go walking, driving, or cycling. It also symbolises one of the things I like most about the city: the amount of green space it incorporates.

Merivale Rd. (Least Favourite):

This is “Brobdingnag II”; I hate it just as much as South Keys, and for all the same reasons. I once heard a caller to the CBC express the problem very well: the whole street was very obviously designed for cars, not people. If you want to drive everywhere, then it functions as a kind of giant shopping mall. It’s not at all friendly to pedestrians, though. Each of the big-box stores that lines the street is the size of a regular city block. The sidewalk runs right alongside the busy divided road, and is separated from each store by a parking lot that’s easily as big as the store itself. The result is that walking from one store to the one across from it is a five-minute journey, and it would probably take an hour to go from one end of the “mall” to the other.

Kanata, Barhaven, etc. (Least Favourite):

The biggest limit to Ottawa’s beauty is, unfortunately, this: extent. While the downtown core and many of the surrounding neighbourhoods remain lovely, the city is rapidly expanding outwards, and none of that charm can be found in its newer settlements. Although I don’t often venture beyond the old city limits, what I've seen of the suburbs has been uniformly depressing: seas of identical houses and colonies of big-box stores. Bus service is minimal, and distances are so great as to discourage walking, so people have to drive everywhere. They seem, from what I’ve seen, to be free of local institutions, or any kind of local character. Of course, maybe I’m misjudging these regions. My few trips to them have mostly been in the context of my job as inventory clerk, and so naturally featured a lot of big-box stores. Still, they depress me, and I worry about the future of the city if it continues to expand this way.

Five things I would do if I had unlimited money and influence:

1. Turn Lebreton Flats into a parking lot and turn the downtown core into a busses-only zone. This would force people to take public transportation, and also get a lot of cars off our downtown roads.
2. Tear down the Metcalfe library and replace it with something that doesn’t look like a giant cinderblock. Preferably something with a roof garden.
3. Tear down the N.A.C. and replace it with something that could actually put on a decent production of The Nutcracker.
4. Pave over Bank Street and turn it into a walking street, similar to the Sparks Street Mall. (Does anyone actually like driving on Bank Street?)
5. Enact some zoning laws to make sure some thought got put into the new suburbs.

And one more thing…:

- Build an aquarium. Because I love aquaria and I think every big city should have one. Hey, I know, they could make that the new use for the Conference Centre!

One Hundred Little Things - July 2010

I kicked off my last month in Ottawa rather fittingly with my favourite Ottawa event: Canada Day. As usual, I spent my afternoon wandering around downtown and my evening on Parliament Hill. The evening concert featured a large number of artists, the most famous being the Barenaked Ladies. I was a bit disappointed that they weren’t the main act, and that they had to share the time with so many other artists, but at least I can say I’ve seen B.N.L. live. They played a few songs from about ten years ago, one new one, and, of course, “If I Had $1000000”. I swear, that song never gets old!

I’ve done a few other touristy things this month, including going to the changing of the guard on Parliament Hill and paying my first visit in years to the Museum of Nature. The changing of the guard was okay, though quite perfunctory, considering that the Hill has no actual guard to change. I have very fond memories of the Museum of Nature, and was quite keen on visiting it again. It was closed for a while for renovations, and I visited it shortly after it re-opened. Visiting it as an adult, I could see its appeal for children, but it didn’t thrill me the way its London counterpart did the last time I was in England. The fact that there were little kids running around everywhere, bumping into me and getting underfoot, didn’t help. It’s still a decent exhibit, though, and definitely worth seeing. My memory of the place is too fuzzy for me to know which parts were new, but I don’t remember the blue whale skeleton being there before.

Work being over, I theoretically have a lot of free time, but the been keeping pretty busy getting ready for my trip to Japan. Big things like my travel arrangements are being taken care of for me, but there are still dozens of little things to be done. I’ve been doing a lot of clothes-shopping, trying to ensure I have everything I might possibly need over the course of a year. Japanese people being short and I being tall even for a Canadian, I’m not counting on being able to find anything over there that fits me. There’s also packing, cleaning my room, organising documents, renewing my passport, converting dollars into yen, getting vaccinated, buying omiyagi (gifts) for people in Japan, etc., etc. One of the things I haven’t been able to do is to inform the Ministry of Health about my change of location. I went into the local office to try and do it, but they wouldn’t accept the document I gave them, and told me I’d need something official to prove I was going to be working in Japan. You know, I really don’t see why I have to tell the Ministry of Health every time I go somewhere. What’s it to them that the reason I haven’t made use of their services recently is that I’m living in another country, being covered by a different health-care plan, and not, say, that I just haven’t gotten sick? And if they’re so keen on me keeping them in the loop, why can’t they make it easy for me to do so? Why do I need to prove I’m going to be working in Japan; can’t they take my word for it? Is it likely I’d lie about my location in order to avoid the benefits of OHIP??? This is one of those bureaucratic hoops I just don’t get.

Though we all had busy schedules, I tried to spend time with all my friends before I left. My last swing dance in Ottawa was the week before my birthday, so I and my guests got in for free. I danced with lots of people and had a really good time. For my birthday party I went to The Works with my friends, and then we all went up to Parliament Hill to see the evening light show. The show told the story of Canada in three parts: first the indigenous culture and colonisation, then the history of the country post-confederation, and finally a tribute to Canadian culture. The show was certainly questionable in some of the ways it chose to represent Canada, but it was good food for conversation, and some of the light effects were quite impressive, particularly the part where they made it look like the walls were popping in and out.

I also had a going-away party with people from church. It was nice to be able to say goodbye, and to have them all wish me luck. I got some really good going away presents, too. Nothing big, but all of it useful, from a Canada shirt (something I’d been meaning to buy, but hadn’t gotten around to), to a package of tissues (always good to have), to a portable U.S.B. hard drive (I just know that’s going to come in handy).

The vegetable garden ended up being a qualified success. We didn’t get any more spinach and the beans never grew. I also didn’t get a chance to enjoy the later vegetables, such as the carrots and squash. We did get some nice peas, although they only ended up being a handful. We also had some nice meals based on beet greens and Swiss chard, and the lettuce proved useful for sandwiches, although it turned into crazy tall mutant lettuce. I only got to try some of the tomatoes, but the ones I had were really nice, and I look forward to enjoying more in future years.

In the news, that oil spill that started back in April was still going this month. They say they’ve got it capped, now, but it’s still sickening to think about the environmental damage.

Movies I’ve seen this month:

Entre les murs – Decidedly un-heartwarming look at a high school teacher struggling to educate his class of unruly students. (Three stars)

Capitalism: A Love Story – Michael Moore’s attack on capitalism: a potentially fascinating project, if handled well. Which, of course, it isn’t. Moore unfortunately forgoes the journalistic principles of balance and reasoned debate entirely, opting instead for one-sided rants and childish pranks. And while vitriolic in his condemnation of the current economic situation, he fails to offer any concrete suggestions as to how it could be improved or what it could be replaced with. (Two stars)

Iolanthe – Gilbert and Sullivan musical about some fairies who start meddling with Parliament. Mildly amusing, but forgettable. (Two stars)

Ponyo – A new animated film by Miyazaki Hayao. Sweet and inoffensive, but a bit hard to follow, and definitely not Miyazaki’s best film. (Two and a half stars)

Towelhead – Despite the name, this film has comparatively little to do with racism. It’s certainly there as a sub-theme, which is played out rather interestingly, and I wish had been dealt with more, but the real topic is the awkward, and sometimes disturbing, sexual experiences of a thirteen-year-old girl. Although I can’t say I found that very appealing, it was rather a refreshing change to see a brutally explicit film about female adolescence, and I’m quite impressed with the performance of the eighteen-year-old lead. (Three stars)

Mao’s Last Dancer – Fairly interesting true story about a Chinese ballet dancer who visits the United States and decides to defect. It’s unusual to see a western film about Chinese characters, and I quite enjoyed most of it, although I thought the last half hour was a bit weak. (Three and a half stars)

Les Plages d’Agnès – Autobiographical documentary by filmmaker Agès Varda. I’ve never seen anything she made, which meant, unfortunately, that the documentary was mostly lost on me. (Not going to try)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding – A fairly conventional romantic comedy. Cute and amusing in places, but a bit forced and lacking in real charm. (Two and a half stars)

Gigante – Either a sweet and quirky romantic comedy, or a creepy and disturbing stalker film. It seems to think it’s the former; I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. (Two stars)

T.V. shows I’ve watched this month:

Doctor Who (New Season 5) – Another lame and corny season of this strangely addictive series. Matt Smith as the Doctor is quite likeable, but doesn’t have his predecessor’s ability to distract the viewer from the show’s many weaknesses. For the first few episodes, I really thought I’d had it with the show, but there are some intriguing developments later in the season, and I’m curious to see how they play out in the future. (I missed Season 4, so I don’t know who this River person is, but I like her!)

The Wire (Season 1) – In October, when I first arrived back in Ottawa, one of the first thing I did was request this from the library. I finally got it one week before my departure, which meant that I had to watch it in a kind of mad rush between all my leaving preparations. This complex and uncompromising police drama, set in the “home of the misdemeanor homicide”, is definitely of a pedigree above ordinary T.V. shows, making comparisons with The Sopranos inevitable. I wouldn’t say it impressed me quite as much as that landmark series, but it does have several strengths over the other show. Both deal with crime, but this one follows the stories of both the criminals and the policemen pursuing them. It also tries to explain its criminals, shows them with doubts and weaknesses, and makes them sympathetic in a way the DiMeo crime family never was. Comparisons are also inevitable with David Simon’s book Homicide, which partly inspired it. I had fun recognising characters and sub-plots from that book. I also felt similar feelings of disgust with the crude, violent, and often unethical behaviour of the cops. I’m sure it’s realistic, but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in the police. Although certainly a very good series, I can’t say that it truly grabbed my imagination, or that I’m terribly impatient to see the next season. Still, I’ll probably check out the rest of it some time. As someone pointed out to me, once you get a taste of good television, it’s hard to settle for the regular stuff.

Radio programmes I’ve listened to this month:

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Seasons 3-5) – Dramatisations of the last three books in the trilogy. True to their written counterparts, Season 3 is fairly entertaining, Seasons 4 and 5 mostly dull and depressing. My favourite part is actually the contrived happy ending that has been tacked onto the last episode, which gets all the characters back together and includes some all-new Crowning Moments of Funny.

Books I’ve read this month:

Easy Avenue by Brian Doyle – Several times over the past few years, I’ve read a children’s book, been disappointed in it, and wished I’d read it when I was younger and might have appreciated it better. This brilliant little book I wish I’d read when I was younger because I love it, and wish it had been in my life longer! For starters, it’s set in my beloved hometown. Since it takes place in the post-war period, it also provides a glimpse of Ottawa history: a pet fascination of mine. It’s also rather obviously modelled on Dickens’s Great Expectations, and is indeed very Dickensian in its story and characters. The story itself is nice and told with a good touch of humour. I’m taking it to Japan with me; I’m going to re-read it when I get homesick.

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett – My favourite Discworld book so far! The story is comparatively tight and cleverly told. I enjoyed the many, many references to Macbeth and other Shakespeare works. It was also nice to have mostly female protagonists for a change, and Pratchett does a less-than-awful job of writing them.

The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickenson – An interesting non-fiction book in which the author argues for the existence of historical dragons. This may seem like a far-fetched theory, and I’d certainly question some of his reasoning, but as a scientific and literary investigation it’s fairly informative, and several of his arguments are intriguing.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick – Sci-fi novel best remembered as the basis for Bladerunner. Quite a bit better than the film, with a more interesting world and better character-development. It actually contains a lot of interesting inventions besides the eerily anthropomorphic robots, many of which are only touched on vaguely. My biggest complaint is that so many of the themes it raises are left underexplored.

The Inimitable Jeeves, Carry On, Jeeves, and Very Good, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse

"I say, Jeeves?"
"Yes, sir?"
"What do you make of this book?"
"The collection of short stories by Mr Wodehouse, sir?"
"That's the one. Bit rummy, what?"
"In what respect, sir?"
"Well the plotlines for a start. Dashed silly, if you ask me. Falling in love and out of love. Elaborate deceptions of elderly relatives. Burglary. Bribery. Blackmail. And some truly awful parenting practices."
"The style does tend towards the fatuous, sir."
"You said it, Jeeves. Why, if two chaps were to get together and perform the thing, it would be… something as a whatsit, Jeeves."
"Condemned as an improbable fiction, sir?"
"Exactly. I mean, take this hero lad. Seems like a good egg. Sound in the coconut, heart of gold, all that rot. It's just that he… well, you know, he doesn't seem to… do much of anything."
"You think the protagonist would be more engaging if he had some form of employment, sir?"
"Precisely, Jeeves. It's all very well to spend an hour or two with Bertram Wooster the infantile frat boy, but think of the fun one could have with 'Bertram Wooster: Private Investigator'?"
"That would certainly open up several dramatic and comic possibilities, sir."
"Or how about, 'Bertram Wooster: World Traveller', or even, 'Bertram Wooster: Member of Parliament'!"
"Aided, of course, by his loyal valet, sir?"
"Of course, Jeeves."
"Might I venture an observation, sir?"
"Certainly, Jeeves, venture away!"
"Well, sir, you might consider the purpose of the author in writing the stories. They were not, I believe, intended as high art, but merely as light entertainment, designed not to edify, but to bring a curl to the lip and a twinkle to the eye."
"Are they, by George? Well, call me an old stick in the mud, but the eye does not twinkle, nor does any other of the parts. I think the characters are positively beastly to one another. As far as I can see, they're all severely deficient in common s., and quite lacking in the m. of human k."
"One does discern a certain vein of schadenfreude, sir, such as is commonly found among the natives of this island."
"Really, Jeeves? You think that we Brits are full-up with this… whatever it was you said?"
"One hesitates to generalise, sir. However, if you will turn your mind for a moment to the plays of the late Mr Wilde, the fantasy novels of the late Mr Adams or the still extant Mr Pratchett, or those gentlemen of the Monty Python comedy troupe, you may remark upon a tendency in our comedic works towards the unsentimental, not to say the cynical."
"And you think this tendency reflects the British taste in humour?"
"To a limited extent, I believe it does, sir."
"With the upshot that much British humour is lost on our cousins across the drink?"
"I fear that may sometimes be the case, sir."
"Right ho! Thank you, Jeeves."
"Very good, sir."

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss - (Sic) Well, if you’re going to write a book and subtitle it “A Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation”, then it shouldn’t surprise you when other people come along and deconstruct your punctuation! Actually, one of the things I learned from this book is that that comma that comes before the “and” in a list of three or more items is called an “Oxford comma”, though no explanation is given for why U.S. writers tend to use it while British writers tend not to. This and other subtleties of English punctuation are the nits the author of this book picks. I was thus expecting a fascinating read, but though funny and somewhat informative, I found it less than inspirational. Maybe that’s because so many of the points she clarifies are either ones I’ve been well-versed in since high school, or because I question several of the assertions she makes. (Shouldn’t that be “A Zero-Tolerance Approach…”?)

Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey – This sequel to Dragonsong is fairly slow-moving and action-free, and though it develops the world introduced in the previous book, there is nothing in the story that grabbed my attention, and the characters are starting to bore me.

The Mating Season by P. G. Wodehouse – Okay, I think I’ve satisfied a lifetime’s worth of curiosity about the Jeeves books. It’s time to stop now.

…And Dribble Out of My Ears - June 2010

We had our last few Japanese lessons at the beginning of June. I wish they’d gone on longer, or been held closer to our departure date. We only had time to cover some basic functions and vocabulary, and I imagine that by the time we actually arrive in Japan, I’ll have forgotten most of it anyway. Most of the others in the class were beginners like me, although a few do speak some Japanese and have even lived in Japan before. I was glad I’d done even a minimal amount of Japanese study before the class; I think it helped me to get more out of it.

Later in the month we had a Japanese cooking class. I really appreciated it, as Japanese cooking is quite a bit different from Canadian cooking: no ovens for one thing, a lot more emphasis on rice, and a lot less cheese. They introduced some Japanese snacks, such as mochi, candied chestnuts, wasabi peas, and edamame. They also taught us some useful recipes, including onigiri (rice balls), wakame salad, and cold somen noodles. They were all good. I’m especially keen on the onigiri, which seems to be a kind of Japanese equivalent to the sandwich.

This month I also learned my placement. I’ll be working in a chugakko (junior high school) in a city called Sendai. I’ve never heard of it before, but apparently it is a relatively major city. It’s in the northern part of Honshu, about five hours north of Tokyo by car (or two hours by bullet train), and has a population of about one million (similar to that of Ottawa). I wanted a high school placement, and was hoping to be put in a slightly more central location, but over-all it looks pretty good.

The first weekend of the month I went to an event called Doors Open Ottawa. Apparently it occurs every year, but this was the first time I’d heard of or attended it. For one weekend, many of the major buildings around Ottawa open their doors and welcome visitors in. Since we often neglect to do touristy things in our own cities, and since I’ll be going away soon, I figured it would be a good opportunity to learn a bit more about Ottawa history. I visited several locations, including the drill hall, City Hall, Rideau Hall, and a couple of churches. I even went to my old high school and snapped a picture of the plaque with my name on it! The most interesting location was Laurier House, former residence of both Sir Wilfred Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King. The rooms had all been preserved in a period style, and there were guides around to provide anecdotes about the former prime ministers. There was even a corner dedicated to Lester B. Pearson; don’t ask me why. The other location I was very glad to visit was the Conference Centre, formerly Ottawa Union Station. You might not guess it today, but the railroad used to run right up to downtown Ottawa, and terminate in the building across from the Château Laurier. It still looks like a railway station, and I rather regret that it doesn’t get used for that purpose any more, and that our current train station is a rather utilitarian affair in the east end. Still, I guess the downtown wouldn’t be as picturesque as it is if it had trains running through it.

Work ended for me this month. I’ve only had one student for the past couple of months, and now that her contract has come to an end, I don’t expect to get any more. On the plus side I have lots of free time to prepare for my departure. Mostly, though, I’ve been watching movies and T.V. and reading books – not even challenging books, but fast, light, juvenile books. I guess you could say I’m cramming in as much reading and viewing as possible while I still have the chance, recklessly letting my brain turn into mush…

In the news this month, Israel boarded an aid ship bound for Gaza while it was still in international waters, killing nine people. It seems like an idiotic move to me, but as usual the situation is complicated, and we’ll probably never entirely understand exactly what happened. In national news, the G20 held a summit in Toronto. As tends to happen with these events, security was ridiculously tight, and still didn’t stop people from smashing shop windows and torching cop cars. No one comes out of this incident looking good, and the ones who come off worst are probably the Canadian people as a whole.

Movies I’ve seen this month:

The Haunted Castle – Silent German expressionist film, by the director of Nosferatu. Not my favourite silent German expressionist film, but I do love the genre! (Three stars)

Fifty Dead Men Walking – Gritty thriller about one man’s career as an I.R.A. informant. It’s a pretty interesting story, though depressing. Poor Ireland: such a screwed-over country! (Three and a half stars)

Gideon's Trumpet – Low-key dramatisation of a landmark U.S. legal case. I love this kind of movie: it takes an interesting subject and makes it comprehensible without sensationalising it. (Three and a half stars)

The Good Earth – Old black and white U.S. movie about a family of peasants in pre-revolutionary China. Surprisingly good, considering when it was made, with a reasonably interesting story and some beautiful cinematography. The fact that the two leads are played by white actors is a bit weird, but I was actually more impressed with the number of honest-to-goodness Asians in the cast. (Three stars)

Micmacs à tire-larigot – Silly French film about a man’s vendetta against the arms manufacturers whose weapons have ruined his life. The premise is a bit questionable, but I guess arms manufacturers make pretty unsympathetic targets, and I enjoyed the mix of oddball characters, particularly the contortionist. (Three stars)

Gentleman's Agreement – Think "Jewish, Like Me". A journalist goes looking for anti-Semitism, and finds it at every turn. Quite good and intelligent in places, despite its seemingly out-dated theme. (Three and a half stars)

An Education – Much better than you would expect from a “coming-of-age movie about a teenage girl’s relationship with an older man”. Despite its familiar premise, it manages to rise above the hopeless mess of clichés and tell a relatively insightful and positive story. (Four stars)

Tulpan – My first Kazakhstani film, about an aspiring shepherd and his search for a wife. It has a sweet story, but is as much about showcasing a way of life as about the characters. Slow-moving and featuring some very impressive long takes. (Three stars)

T.V. shows I’ve seen this month:

Jeeves & Wooster (Season 4) – Last time, I promise. This season wraps up the series, with its appeal still mostly lost on me. I wouldn't say I've become a fan of Hugh Laurie, or even of Bertie Wooster, but I've definitely become a fan of Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster. And while Stephen Fry isn't at all how I'd envision Jeeves, based on what I've read of the books, I enjoy the acerbic, passive-aggressive, gently flirtatious relationship the co-stars share. One can only imagine what they could have done with a decent plot. I guess if I want intelligent upper-class comedy I'll just have to stick with Frasier. By the way, if you're wondering why I'm still watching this show, it's because its four seasons amount to a grand total of twenty-three episodes.

Flash Forward (Season 1) – A new American sci-fi thriller starring an oddly large number of Brits. Chief among these is Joseph "Whatever-Happened-To…" Fiennes, sporting a Jack Bauer complex and an American accent so flawless it's easy to forget this is the same guy whose biggest claims to fame are playing Will Shakespeare and being Ralph Fiennes's younger brother. Meanwhile, the supporting cast looks like a cross-section of every T.V. show from the last decade. Hey, look, it's Courtney B. Vance from Law & Order: C.I.! Hey, it's Dominic Monaghan from Lost! And there's Alex Kingston from ER, and even Gina Torres from Firefly! Not to mention John Cho from the new Star Trek movie.

Anyway, the plot: Everyone in the world gets a glimpse of the future, and spends the next six months trying to realise the future they saw, avoid the future they saw, or figure out how any of this happened in the first place. It's definitely an interesting idea, and watching the various futures come together – or not, as the case may be – is certainly fun. The plot is equal parts goofy musings about the power of "destiny", the question of "free will", and the importance of "belief"; and relatively exciting crime-thriller-style investigations, chases, and showdowns. It reminds me of the first season of Heroes, in that it manages to be about half so-cheesy-it's-good, and half pretty decent. I'd certainly give the second season a chance if there were one.

Books I’ve read this month:

Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse – Another Jeeves novel, in which Bertie is more than usually obnoxious and everyone else more than usually cruel to him.

Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey – Fantasy/science-fiction novel from the Dragonriders of Pern series. The world the action takes place in is interesting enough, but the book only tells a fraction of a story, combined with what appear to be snippets of other plot-lines. I guess I need to read more from the series if I want to understand it.

The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow – Touching on many of the same themes as Outliers, this book maintains that, due to the interference of random factors, results are not a reliable measure of potential, and we should never overlook the role of chance in our lives. Taken to an extreme, this may seem overly fatalistic, but, as the author points out, the empowering corollary is that people can increase their chances of good luck through sheer force of perseverance. I also found it a useful rebuttal to our pervasive tendency to idolise success and denigrate misfortune. My biggest complaint is that, although I appreciated the refresher math course that takes up the book's middle section, I think the author should have spent more time demonstrating his main thesis.

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett – Another Discworld book about a young “sourcerer” whose existence threatens the whole world. Not bad, but not as much fun as some of the books, and with a rather unsatisfying ending.

The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse – I have to admit, these books are beginning to grow on me. I'm getting quite into the narration style, and this one at least has a relatively gripping if very silly story-line. On the other hand, pretty much all the characters are selfish jerks who made my skin crawl. And, though quite funny in places, I wouldn’t say Wodehouse exactly has the sparkling wit of, say, Dickens. Which reminds me: gosh it's been a long time since I read Dickens!

Springtime in Ottawa - May 2010

Wow, May just flashed by! I don't know if it's because I've been busy, or because of the great weather. May is my favourite month of the year in Ottawa, and I appreciated it all the more for having been away for the past two years and knowing that I may well be away for the next two. This is the time of year when I remember why I love Ottawa so much: when it's gotten warm, but not quite excruciatingly hot; when everything's turned green; when the flowers have bloomed and the birds have come back and baby animals are being born. It's the time of year for getting out of the house again and going for long walks by the river and marvelling at just how truly lovely this city can be. This is how I remember Ottawa whenever I'm away from it!

My buddy from the Netherlands came here on vacation, and she stayed with me for a weekend. I enjoyed seeing her again, and the chance it gave me to play tour guide in my home town. I took her to as many must-see attractions as I could: the Museum of Civilization, the War Museum, the Tulip Festival, along the river and the canal, and around the Parliament Buildings. I hadn't been to the Musée since I was in university, and I'm quite impressed with what they've done with the Canada Hall. They've created a section to represent each of Canada's regions, and added a gallery of notable Canadian personalities. Being Dutch, my buddy didn't find the Tulip Festival and talk of Canada's close relationship with Holland to be anything new, but she did confirm for me that Canadians are still remembered as liberators throughout the Netherlands. We had beautiful weather most of the time, which was great for just walking around and taking pictures. I think she had a good time here, and she also left with a definite impression of what Ottawans get up to on Friday nights: swing dancing!

Now that I've been accepted to the JET Programme, I've started having orientation seminars and training. I have to give the Programme credit; they seem quite serious about getting their recruits ready for life in Japan. We had a couple of TESOL training classes, which were pretty much review for me, but I still found them helpful. Now we've started Japanese lessons. We only get six classes, but at least they'll give us a start on the language, and we also have a textbook to work through. They're also giving us a lot of information about Japanese culture and school life. Gradually, the notion that I'm actually going to be living and working in Japan for a year is becoming more real.

I mentioned that my church choir, which I'd joined back in January, was taking a break. This month I have some semi-good news. The choir has started singing again on Sundays, but we're only singing the regular hymns with the congregation, and we aren't doing rehearsals. The vegetable garden is continuing to grow. We had baby spinach early in the month, but none of the other plants has produced food yet. And I've discovered the secret to getting more books read in a given period of time: read shorter books!

In the news, the U.K. has had an election, ousting Gordon Brown and returning the Conservatives to power. There's a terrific oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, spilling thousands of barrels of petrol into the water and endangering the livelihoods of local animals and people. It's horrible to think about the environmental damage; the only way there could be a good side to this would be if it inspired the world to develop cleaner sources of energy, and to stop relying on fossil fuels. South Korea has broken off relations with its northern counterpart after the latter was accused of sinking an R.o.K. boat. I find it hard to believe that North Korea would do anything so stupid as to deliberately alienate its southern neighbour, but then, the D.R.K. is famous for its inscrutability and bloody-mindedness. Who knows why it does anything?

Movies I've seen this month:

Topsy-Turvy – Gilbert and Sullivan and the making of the Mikado. A fairly conventional story (famous artists in a creative slump are suddenly inspired to create a new work, which goes on to become a beloved masterpiece), padded with a surprising number of sub-plots and asides that add a great deal to the realism, but rather take away from the flow of the narrative. (Three stars)

Sharks – IMAX movie about sea creatures. Like all documentaries about the ocean, it's fun to watch. Unfortunately, we sat too close to the screen, making the 3D effects go a bit wonky.

Bright Star – Cute teen romance that just happens to be set in the nineteenth century and have John Keats as one of its protagonists. I was strangely impressed with this film, which offers the most restrained, un-spectacular, and, ultimately, realistic portrayal of young love I've ever seen in a movie. Unfortunately, that's all to say that it's really rather slow-paced and dull. (Three stars)

Gomorrah – Gritty and disturbing Italian film about organised crime in Naples. Along similar lines to Los olvidados, or City of God, but very slow moving and anti-spectacular. Makes one appreciate why "Va' fa Napoli!" is an Italian curse. (Three and a half stars)

Up In the Air – Another smart and timely comedy-drama by the director of Thank You for Smoking and Juno. I enjoyed it, but didn't find it nearly as brilliant as the previous two. (Three stars)

T.V. shows I've seen this month:

Jeeves & Wooster (Season 3) – The continuing adventures of a gentlemanly gentleman's gentleman and his "mentally negligible" but "golden-hearted" employer. This time, half the episodes take place in New York, but the stories still proceed in basically the same vein. There are some amusing moments (Bertie getting into a fight with some brown paper and treacle), but I can't help thinking that the show would be several times better if they cut out all those annoying plot bits and renamed it "Silly Songs with an Upper-Class Twit and His Valet".

V (Season 1) – They have come to Earth with the promise of peace, an alien race known as the Tael-… er, the V. But there are those who resist these "alien compan-"… I mean, uh, "visitors". Okay, so comparisons with Earth: Final Conflict are inevitable, and the most appealing thing about V was its potential to succeed where that brilliant but horribly mismanaged series had failed to tell an interesting and morally complex story about first contact between humans and a superior alien race. Unfortunately, that means I've been easily disappointed by all the ways in which V differs from E:FC, but I'll try not to let that cloud my review too much.

Actually, I think even without the comparisons I would have found this show disappointing. The characters are flat and clichéd: the angry teenager, the concerned mother, the conflicted priest, the unprincipled mercenary, the manipulative villain. The aliens are all absurdly altruistic or laughably callous. They have cheesy, '60s B-movie-style debates in which they either extol the virtue or scorn the depravity of "human emotion", without scrutinising the issue or elucidating their own motivational system. Despite the potential of the premise, all the ground it covers feels well-trodden. I'll keep watching it if it comes back for a second season, but I won't be too broken up if it doesn't.

Books I've read this month:

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson – Travelogue about one man backpacking around Britain. The writing style is too subjective for the book to be really useful as a travel guide, but it does make me think that one of these days I should try backpacking around Britain myself.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll – I've started on something of a re-reading-the-children's-classics binge, and I thought it had been far too long since I'd read this most vitally brilliant of English master-works. And it is, you know. If there are two books that every speaker and student of the English language should read, they are this book and its sequel. They're just chock-full of plays on the English language, characters so singular they have become ingrained in our culture, and a wonderfully zany sense of humour.

Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll – I actually like this book even better than its predecessor. It has a more structured narrative while, paradoxically, coming much closer to capturing the logic of a dream. It also contains the famous "Jabberwocky" poem and the chapter on Humpty Dumpty, my absolute favourite of all the Wonderland characters. It's only the end that I find rather weak, in contrast to the first book where the ending is the best part. By the way, if you, like me, were wondering, they're pronounced "guy-re" and "ghim-ble", not "jai-re" and "jim-ble".

Mort by Terry Pratchett – How am I only now discovering the Discworld books? I'm really getting quite into them. They may not be strong on structure or narrative coherence, but I appreciate the humour, the satire, and the imagination. The last two books have even had happy endings!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis – Historically my favourite of the Narnia books. I didn't like it as much as I remembered, but towards the end I recaptured the sense of wonder I felt reading it as a child. I also decided that with some sections expanded, one could make a decent film out of it, although I'm not optimistic about the movie that's in production.

Nihon ni Ikimasu!* ^_^ - April 2010

After our mild winter, it wasn't a surprise when spring arrived early. By April, the snow was all gone, and the weather had gotten fairly mild. The only thing missing was precipitation. We'd gotten precious little of it in the way of snow, and as we moved into spring we went through weeks of bright, sunny days with little or no rain. That might seem like a good thing, but spring hasn't really begun until things start growing, and for that they need a good soaking. A week into April, they finally got it. I've never been so happy to see rain.

As usual, I've enjoyed watching the world turn green again, but this year is especially exciting for me, because we have a vegetable garden! Back in the winter, I read a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle about a family that move to the country and start growing their own food. Since being healthy and being environmentally responsible are both important to me, I found it quite inspiring, and I was allured to the idea of eating home-grown fruit and vegetables. At the end of March we were finally able to begin planting. We bought seeds for all kinds of things: peas and beans, carrots and onions, spinach and lettuce, squash and tomatoes. Now we have dozens of little green plants; I can't wait till we can start eating them!

Work has been quite slow of late. Although I still technically have a job, I have very few hours, and lots of free time. Under other circumstances, I'd be pounding the pavement looking for another job, but I'm not going to worry about that now because…

I'M GOING TO JAPAN!

A year and a half after sending in my first application, I've finally been accepted to the JET Programme. I'm ecstatic. Going to Japan has been a dream of mine for the last four years, and now it's finally coming true! I'm also nervous. I'll be spending a year alone in a foreign country surrounded by a strange language and a very different culture. It will be an exciting experience, but also a challenging one. The programme begins at the end of July, which means I still have several months to prepare. I imagine they're going to fly by.

I haven't been up much else this month. I had a nice Easter weekend although, given how little I've been working, it couldn't really be considered a holiday. A few weeks later I got roped into joining this year's Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. I didn't gather any pledges, but I figured it would be worth it to show up and give my support. I donated some money, and joined the procession for a nice spring stroll down the parkway.

In the news this month, the Polish president, Lech Kaczynski, was killed in a plane crash, along with his wife and much of the Polish leadership. It's a black, black time for Poland; I can't think when a comparable tragedy has hit a country. In other aviation news, air traffic in Europe was grounded for almost a week due to a cloud of ash emanating from an Icelandic volcano. The incident affected not only travel to and from Europe, but also all flights travelling through it. Some airlines may want to take a hint and start routing their flights through a different continent.

Movies I've seen this month:

Death Proof – Surprisingly good B-style action film by Quentin Tarantino. I was expecting relentless gore and violence, but the movie actually consists mostly of talking, punctuated by a couple of spectacular action sequences. It includes some interesting conversations, well-developed characters, and an entertaining degree of self-referentialism – essentially all the things I felt Inglourious Basterds was missing. The story may not be that strong, but I quite enjoyed watching it. (Two and a half stars)

Hot Fuzz – British parody cop film starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, also of Shaun of the Dead. It's funny when it's sending up crime movie clichés, but then it falls into a lot of those clichés, and gets really silly by the end. (Two and a half stars)

The Yeomen of the Guard – Made-for-T.V. production of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta. Basically a silly story with some mediocre musical numbers sung in an operatic style that makes the lyrics mostly incomprehensible. (Two stars)

Il Divo – Bio-pic about the last days in the rule of Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. Never heard of him. Which is too bad, because the movie looks incredible, but suffers from the fact that I have no idea what's going on in it. Guess I should go brush up on my modern Italian history, and then come back to it. (Haven't a clue)

Chocolat – A cute dramatic comedy about a woman who comes to a small conservative French town and opens a chocolaterie. I got a bit annoyed at times with how religion kept getting made out as the bad guy (of all the times to open a chocolate shop, who picks the beginning of Lent?), but it all worked out in the end, and over all I think the film struck the right note. (Three and a half stars)

The Magic Mountain – Artsy and epic German film, based on a book by Thomas Mann. I didn't understand it, but it did remind me a bit of Lost Horizon – if Shangri-La was a mad-house. (Two stars)

T.V. shows I've seen this month:

Jeeves & Wooster (Season 2) – Despite the iconic stature of its characters, I've been rather disappointed in this show. Yes, it has the charm of a British period piece, but the stories are highly repetitive and essentially deal with shallow obnoxious characters doing stupid things in order to ingratiate themselves to, take revenge on, or avoid getting involved with other shallow obnoxious characters. In short, a kind of English, upper-class, interbellum equivalent of Seinfeld, minus the clever bits. It's almost worth it, though, for Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, who are, respectively, loveably bubble-headed as Bertie and wonderfully supercilious as Jeeves. And yes, that Hugh Laurie, and no, I would never have made that connection if left to my own devices.

Being Erica (Season 1) – Wow! A Canadian T.V. show that actually doesn't suck! I didn't think it was possible! Okay, I don't want to oversell this series, which is often cheesy, predictable, and saccharine, but despite its shortcomings it's actually my favourite new show in a long time. A big part of the draw is the main character. Erica Strange is a young, single, working woman, coping with a variety of issues, from family to work to relationships. In other words, she's a bit like me – or at least like someone I might plausibly meet in real life, and how may T.V. heroines can you say that about? The show has a unique premise, quite unlike anything else to be found in this medium of cop shows, medical dramas, and sit-coms. It's Canadian, which may seem like a subtle thing, but there's a refreshing novelty to watching a show that doesn't take place in a foreign country. Although it can be corny, it also contains surprising moments of insight. And I enjoy the way Dr. Tom quotes everyone from Proust to Yoda!

Books I've read this month:

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett – The second Discworld book. I expressed some disappointment with the first book of the series, but found this one considerably better. Its plot is much more unified and engaging, and the writing noticeably funnier. I especially appreciate the way Pratchett satirises tourism; he actually does a much better job of problematising the practice than any of the non-fantastic texts I've read on the topic.

Teacher Ram's Fascination with Fire, and Other Stories by Kennard Ramphal – Collection of short stories, mostly set in rural Guyana. The stories aren't particularly interesting, and are mostly about how quaint and backwards Guyanese people are. Not that I've ever been to Guyana, but I found them a bit difficult to buy.

Thank You, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse – Bertie, black with boot polish, bolts from a boat, burns his banjolele, begs for butter, and burgles his breakfast. (Hee! I had to do that!) Having been less than impressed with the T.V. show, I decided to have a go at the books – which so far are equally less-than-impressive. I'm probably coming to Wodehouse a bit late in life; if I'd read this when I was ten, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it immensely. It's inoffensive, fast-paced, and funny in places, particularly around the end. It's just all a bit light and inconsequential. Oh, and "inoffensive", except for the fact that it rather disconcertingly has the N- word in it. Don't know if that's more a reflection of when and where it was written (England, 1934), or a deliberate comment on the ditziness of the characters (it's worth noting that Jeeves says "negro").

* Japanese for, "I'm gong to Japan!"

Daylight Is My Enemy - March 2010

March this year coincided with Lent, the fast that lasts from Ash Wednesday to Easter. In previous years I've given up meat, animal products, dessert, snacking, or any or all of the above. This year I decided to do something different. Instead of giving up a kind of food, I've been eating anything I want – but only between the hours of sunset and sunrise. I got the idea when I was working in Vancouver last year. In September, my Saudi Arabian students were fasting for Ramadan, and one of my fellow teachers, in a show of solidarity, decided to do the same. Talking with her about it, I thought it sounded like an interesting discipline, and this Lenten season I decided to try it. My fast wasn't quite as hard-core as the traditional one in a couple of ways. Firstly, the Ramadan fast actually begins some time before sunrise and ends some time after sunset. Secondly, Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink anything, but I made an exception for water.

At first, it was easier than I thought it would be. The first day or two were hard, but I was surprised by how quickly my body adjusted to it. It was just a matter of skipping lunch, and, on the bright side, I found that dinner started tasting really good. Still, as the days grew longer so did the fasts, which meant, paradoxically, that increased daylight became a bad thing for me. The arrival of Daylight Savings meant I could sleep in a bit, but also that I had to wait so long for dinner that I got over-hungry and lost my appetite again. The fast also necessitated some unusual sleeping schedules. For example: 6:00 – get up, brush teeth, eat breakfast; 7:00 a.m. – go back to bed and sleep for two hours; 9:00 a.m. – shower, get dressed, go to church. Or: 5:45 a.m. – get up, brush teeth, eat breakfast; 6:45 a.m. – get dressed, watch an hour of T.V.; 8:00 a.m. – go to work; 1:00 p.m. – get home from work, take a two-hour nap. The most surprising thing was that even though I was starving at dinner time, I always ate a normal-sized meal, and didn't feel the need to stuff myself. There's probably a lesson in there about how we don't need as much food as we think we do, something I'm reminded of every year at Lent – and always forget shortly thereafter.

Over all it was a good discipline, and I tip my proverbial hat to all the Muslims who every year forego not only food but also water for their holy month. I don't think I could do that, but I might do a similar fast again if Lent is a bit earlier, or if I'm living at a more southerly latitude. I might also try something less-extreme, like fasting between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., or something. Oh, and in case you're wondering, no, I did not lose a noticeable amount of weight over this.

At the beginning of March I went with a group of international students to visit a sugar bush. I'd done the sugar bush field trip in elementary school, of course, but it was nice to go again, and to help introduce the foreigners to this very Canadian tradition. It was an excellent day for the trip. The weather had just started to get warm, so the sap was running and the temperature was mild, but there was still lots of snow on the ground. I did the tour and the sleigh ride and then got all wet because I forgot how a see-saw works. (See, this is why I don't go in for sports!) I didn't do myself any permanent damage, though.

I mentioned that I joined my church choir in January. The songs weren't great, but it was nice to be back into singing, and I was really starting to enjoy it. Unfortunately, due to some problems (which I won't get into), the choir has taken a break, so I'm not able to do that any more. I don't know at this point when it might reconvene.

I guess the Oscars must have gotten pushed back by the Olympics, because they were at the beginning of March this year. They broke with tradition by nominating ten films for Best Picture, instead of the usual five, but I'd still only seen a few of them. Of the films I had seen, Avatar won only technical awards, and Star Trek picked up Best Makeup. I was surprised that Sandra Bullock got the Best Actress award. I hadn't seen any of the other nominees, but I didn't think her performance in The Blind Side was that great. Still, it was impossible to hold the win against her, because she accepted it with so much grace, praising her co-nominees and thanking "the moms that take care of the babies and the children, no matter where they come from." The show itself was okay; my only complaint was that they omitted the live performances of the nominated songs – usually my favourite part. In Memoriam: It was a quiet year. We lost Patrick Swayze, Carl Malden, and Ron Silver (that last one came as a surprise to me). Oh, and Michael Jackson, of course, although he's not remembered as a film personality.

In the news, a woman was kicked out of a French language class in Québec for refusing to remove her niqab. Both the niqab and the burqa creep me out: I disagree with a mentality that says women should hide their faces, and I think it would be deeply disconcerting to talk to someone whose face you couldn't see. However, I also believe in freedom of expression, and I don't think the government has the right to tell people what they can and can't wear. I agree that there should be standards as to what government employees wear while interacting with the public, and that people who seek government services should need to show their faces for identification purposes, but in most circumstances they should be able to wear whatever they want. As an E.S.L. teacher, I can definitely see how wearing a niqab could be an impediment to language learning – but not as big an impediment as getting kicked out of a language class!

In related news – or at least similar news – U.S. pundit Ann Coulter came to speak at the University of Ottawa and was booed off campus by protesting students. I found the story especially interesting because I had been at the university a few days before, and I saw a poster up that said, effectively, "Support free speech," and below that, "Stop Ann Coulter from speaking." Apparently, they don't teach irony at university these days. I don't know much about Ann Coulter (except that she provides occasional fodder for Jon Stewart), but as I've already said, I'm a big fan of free speech, and short of inciting violence, I believe people have the right to express their opinions. I'm reminded of a similar incident in 2002, when students kept Benjamin Netanyahu from speaking at the University of Concordia. In both cases students seem to have shown a disturbing lack of respect for our Charter rights, not to mention an un-Canadian lack of good manners. Perversely, the more recent fiasco has also had the effect of turning Ann Coulter into a martyr. Way to go, U. of O. students!

Movies I've seen this month:

The Road – A fairly faithful adaptation of the novel. Unusually, I worried that having the book so fresh in my mind might have made the movie seem better than it otherwise would have, but the person I saw it with confirmed that the film also works in its own right, and I'll take her word for it. It certainly seemed to capture all the important elements of the story. And, yes, I cried at least once. (Three and a half stars)

World's Best Commercials of 2009 – Many of the ads were entertaining, but none was great. There was an ad with Ozzy Osbourne and some Hulu ads that were fun. My favourites, though were some ads from an eastern European country for local sports. (Two and a half stars)

Oscar-Nominated Short Films (Animated) – The five Oscar nominees plus three other shorts. My favourite was probably the Wallace & Gromit one, although I also enjoyed one called "The Lady and the Reaper", and I thought the animation style on the Polish film was quite interesting. I was quite disappointed in the winning film, which had a clever premise, but wasn't particularly well-done, and seemed unnecessarily crude. The only one I liked less was the Canadian film. (Three stars)

The Reader – Oscar-winning film about a teenaged boy's affair with an older woman who has a dark secret – or two. It raises some interesting points about guilt and responsibility in the Holocaust, but they aren't dealt with in as much depth as I would have liked, and I don't understand how that element of the plot is supposed to interact with the other themes. (Three stars)

O' Horten – Incredibly low-key Norwegian film about a retired train engineer. The situational comedy is mildly amusing at times, but never laugh-out-loud hilarious. (Two stars)

Inglourious Basterds – (Sic) Quentin Tarantino is back in form; this is definitely one of the better films I've seen by him. In contrast to Kill Bill, which I found overly long and overly gory, this one is much more thoughtful and atmospheric, and is full of wonderful little Tarantino-esque touches. I did feel that something was missing, though, and I didn't realise until later what it was. Compared to other Tarantino films, it spends fairly little time developing its characters. A couple of them are fairly engaging, but only a few are sympathetic, and most assume a purely functional role. That's especially sad for the characters played by Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz, who are both brilliant but feel a tad under-used. (Three stars)

The Hurt Locker – A relatively well-made movie, but not at all as good as I was expecting from a Best Picture Oscar-winner. I'm especially surprised that it won Best Original Screenplay, considering the occasional corniness of the dialogue. (Three stars)

Departures – Oscar-winning Japanese movie about a cellist who loses his job in an orchestra and begins working at a funeral home. The premise is good, the main actor is loveable, and the film looks stunning, but it is weighed down by a rather predictable and cliché-ridden plot. (Three stars)

The Cove – Documentary about dolphin fishing in Japan. Definitely not an objective account, it casts the Japanese as villains and the filmmakers as valiant truth-seekers. Whether you buy it or not probably depends a lot on whether you accept its implicit premise that killing dolphins is inherently wrong. I must admit, I haven't given much thought to the issue, and I don't usually have an objection to using animals for food. Still, I tend to think of cetaceans, like apes, as being a class above other animals, and I probably wouldn't feel comfortable eating one. (Two stars)

The Legend of Drunken Master – Jackie Chan kung-fu action film. The plot is silly and the acting style is ridiculous, but I enjoyed the action sequences, and the cheesiness adds to the fun. (Two stars)

Twin Dragons – Another Jackie Chan film. Not as good as the first one. The story is sillier, and the action sequences not as good, except for the final showdown which is quite decent. (One and a half stars)

T.V. shows I've seen this month:

Mad Men (Season 1) – Okay, I gave this series a fair shot. And I have to say, I don't get it. What is so great about this show? Allowing for the literal '60s setting (as opposed to just being stuck-in-the-'60s), and the lack of violence, explicit sex, or nudity, it feels exactly like it's trying to be The Sopranos, with many of the same themes, all of the cynicism – and none of the humanity. Everything about this show feels shiny, polished, and lifeless, from the sets, which look like they belong in a museum, to the characters, who are unrelentingly two-dimensional. I mean, I get it already: the '60s were repressive. But did they literally produce nothing but people who were emotionally stunted and devoid of personality? The show does have its moments. (The second last episode is close to awesome; why can't they all be like that?) And it does provide an interesting reference point when learning about modern American history or listening to "The Age of Persuasion". I don't think I'll go back for Season 2, though.

Books I've read this month:

Farmer Giles of Ham by J. R. R. Tolkien – One of Tolkien's less-known works. It tells an amusing tale of a medieval English farmer pitted against a dragon.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett – The first of the Discworld books. So far I'm not that impressed with the series. I've heard it compared to the work of Douglas Adams, but I didn't find it that funny. The Discworld seems like a pretty interesting place, though, and I'd be willing to try another book or two.

Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller – Biography of Ayn Rand, the famous novelist and libertarian philosopher. She sounds to have been a fascinating thinker, but rather a lousy human being. I've never read any of her books, but I'd definitely like to give them a go some time.