Saturday, March 08, 2008

geek moment

Today's soundtrack:
War by Edwin Starr

Candace presented in class today and directed me to this quiz for expectant mothers in the eighteenth century. I got three wrong. Good luck!

Monday, March 03, 2008

need a cigarette?

Today's soundtrack:
"Me Enamora" by Juanes

I admit it. I have a bit of a growing crush on Javier Bardem. It started with Mar adentro when the young version of Ramon Sampedro is frolicking by the shore. Then, one night while the Spaniard was in Japan, the CBC Late Night Movie was Boca a boca which was pretty damned cute and a bit madcap. I mean, here's this lovely looking fellow working as a phone sex operator! Speaking Spanish! The other day we rented Before Night Falls and my oh my doesn't he do tortured soul so very well?

But things were getting back to normal. I was able to think of him as a very talented actor, mainly because all those previews for No Country for Old Men show that terrible wig those Coen brothers made him wear. I was able to get the idea that he's a sexy Spaniard out of my head.

And then, I came across this. Poof! All my hard work, gone. My keyboard? It's covered in drool. It's a good thing I have my own Spaniard to go home to, otherwise I could be in real trouble.

Saturday, March 01, 2008

hasn't harper seen before night falls?

Today's soundtrack:
Exitos by Elefante

Yesterday - or maybe the day before - this story broke about the Conservatives trying to get a bill through the senate that would restrict funding to film productions that were deemed offensive. From the article:

"Charles McVety, president of the Canada Family Action Coalition, said his lobbying efforts included discussions with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, and "numerous" meetings with officials in the Prime Minister's Office.

'We're thankful that someone's finally listening,' he said yesterday. 'It's fitting with conservative values, and I think that's why Canadians voted for a Conservative government.'

Mr. McVety said films promoting homosexuality, graphic sex or violence should not receive tax dollars, and backbench Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers support his campaign."

Honestly, I'm really not surprised. Seven or eight years ago, I was inadvertently at a small Thanksgiving dinner that included our local MP, who is now a Conservative backbencher. We had an interesting conversation throughout the evening that ranged from Canadian involvement in the Holocaust to then-current government policy. At the end, before he left, he took me aside and said "you know what the problem with the Canadian government is? It's that we're not doing a good job of representing the kingdom of God on earth". In my understanding of his argument, the way to properly represent the kingdom of God on earth was 1) to vote Conservative (or at that time, Canadian Alliance), and 2) to allow a narrow reading and understanding of Christianity to dictate Canadian political policy.

Ridiculous? Yes. Surprising? Not in the least. As though any of us expected anything different from the Conservatives, whose base seems to be channeling the Evangelical Republican base of the States. I don't know about you, but I sense some angry letter writing to my local MP tonight.