tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55017024669085142522024-03-14T00:01:26.482-05:00courir dans le vent rosececi est une zone d'écriture multilingue, un manifesto politico-socio, un travel blog, une archive de photo, et en général, une source d'inspiration quand j'en ai besoin. en plus, j'aime partager.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-12371483646617165142009-07-22T14:59:00.002-05:002009-07-22T15:36:05.763-05:00Top Ten Summer EditionI'm loving my Vancouver escape, there's something about the ocean air and mountains that calms the soul and quiets the spirit. I've also been listening to a good amount of music, mostly courtesy of CBC Radio Three, but also the Vancouver Folk Fest and a variety of other local concerts. It's time for a top-ten list. <br /><br />Top Ten Summer Edition<br /><br />1. Metric - Give Me Sympathy<br />2. Sunparlour Players - Pacifists Anthem<br />3. Geoff Berner - The Dead Children Were Worth It! (Official Theme Song for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic Games)<br />4. Dan Mangan - Sold<br />5. Buck 65 - Bandits<br />6. K'naan - Bang Bang (feat. Adam Levine)<br />7. Gentleman Reg - How We Exit<br />8. Novillero - Lost Possibilities<br />9. Neko Case - Star Witness<br />10. The Stills - In the Beginningélan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-47684707038899713402009-05-24T12:29:00.003-05:002009-05-24T14:38:34.062-05:00Top 30 Canadian IndieI have spent countless hours since my arrival on the West Coast listening to CBC Radio 3 podcasts and several of my previous playlists refining the Top 50 Canadian 'indie' list I put together before I left Ottawa 3 weeks ago. Upon hopping into the car in Toronto with my friend and driving mate, I realized I left out several of my fave artists. Here's my revised list, to be revised several more times this summer I'm sure. It's one of my many West Coast projects. <br /><br />To be eligible for the list, an artist must have 2 recent (2006+) songs that I've been listening to regularly. Here are my top 20 artists (Alphabetical), featuring a song or two for consideration. I also have a Top 15 "On the Radar..." list of artists about to break into the next top 30 list.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Top 30<br />1-10 </span><br /><br />1. Caribou- Melody Day & Desiree (Dundas, Electronica)<br />2. Chad VanGaalen- Willow Tree & Cries of the Dead (Calgary, Experimental Rock)<br />3. Forest City Lovers- Don’t Go & Waiting by the Fence (Toronto, Indie Pop)<br />4. Great Lake Swimmers- Your Rocky Spine & Imaginary Sky (Port Colborne, Melancholic Folk)<br />5. Hannah Georgas- The National & The Beat Stuff (Vancouver, Folk)<br />6. Hey Rosetta!- New Goodbye & A Thousand Suns (St-John's, Intense Gospel)<br />7. Numéro#- Chewing-Gum Fraise (avec Omnikrom) & La Vie D'Artiste (Montreal, Euro-Dance)<br />8. Sunparlour Players- Battle of 77 & If the Creeks Don't Rise (Leamington, Alt-Country)<br />9. Two Hours Traffic- Jezebel & Heroes of the Sidewalk (Charlottetown, Power Pop)<br />10. The Weakerthans- Pamphleteer & Tournament of Hearts (Winnipeg, Indie Rock)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11-20</span><br /><br />11. Danny Michel- Feather, Fur & Fin (Kitchener, Folk Rock)<br />12. DL Incognito- Universal Love & Savoir Faire (Ottawa, Hip Hop)<br />13. Hot Hot Heat- Talk to Me, Dance with Me & Let Me In (Victoria, Dance Punk)<br />14. Metric- Rock Me Now & Gimme Sympathy (Toronto, New Wave)<br />15. Neko Case- Hold on, Hold on & Wayfaring Stranger (Vancouver, Alt Country)<br />16. Plants and Animals- Goodfriend & Feedback in the Field (Montreal, Indie Rock)<br />17. Rae Spoon- Come on Forest Fire Burn the Disco Down & We Become Our Own Wolves (Montreal, New Skool Folk)<br />18. Royal Wood- A Mirror Without & Juliet (Toronto, Chamber Pop)<br />19. Tegan & Sara- Call It Off & Take Me Anywhere (Calgary, Indie Pop)<br />20. Wintersleep- Avalanche & Weighty Ghost (Yarmouth, Indie Rock)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />21-30</span><br /><br />21. The Acorn- Crooked Legs (Ottawa, Folk)<br />22. Alex Cuba- Agua del Pozo (Smithers, Latin)<br />23. Jim Bryson- Clear the Crowds (Ottawa, Folk)<br />24. Classified- No Mistakes & Hard to Be Hip Hop (Halifax, Hip Hop)<br />25. Les Cowboys Fringants- Les Etoiles Filantes (Repentigny, Néo-trad)<br />26. Handsome Furs- Cannot Get Started & I'm Confused (Montreal, Indie Rock)<br />27. Newberry vs. Newberry- Upon the Boat (Peterborough/Toronto, Folk)<br />28. The New Pornographers- Adventures in Solitude & The Bleeding Heart Show (Vancouver, Power Pop)<br />29. The Souljazz Orchestra- Mista President (Ottawa, Afro Beat/Jazz)<br />30. Zaki Ibrahim- Joy & Die (Toronto, R&B)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Top 15 "On the Radar..."</span><br /><br />1. Tricot Machine- L’ours (Trois-Rivieres, Pop)<br />2. Library Voices- Step Off the Map and Float (Regina, Indie Pop)<br />3. Dan Mangan- Robots (Vancouver, Indie Rock)<br />4. Deep Dark Woods- All the Money I Had is Gone (Saskatoon, Alt-Country)<br />5. Pierre Lapointe- Deux Par Deux Rassemblés (Alma, Rock)<br />6. The Arkells- Pullin' Punches (Hamilton, Indie Rock)<br />7. Sleepless Nights- Got Caught (Yarmouth & Halifax, Indie Rock)<br />8. Masia One- Return of the Bgirl (Vancouver, Hip Hop)<br />9. The Rural Alberta Advantage- Summertime (Toronto, Indie Rock)<br />10. Maybe Smith- You Would Never Survive the Winter Here (Saskatoon, Rock Pop)<br />11. Holy Fuck- Frenchy's & Jungles (Toronto, Electronica)<br />12. Julie Doiron- Consolation Prize (Sackville & Moncton, Indie Rock)<br />13. Hollerado- Got to Lose (Manotick, Indie Rock)<br />14. Paper Moon- People Were Talking But Now They're Forgetting (Winnipeg, Indie Pop)<br />15. Tanya Davis- Art (Charlottetown, Pop)élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-66896935564532559282009-05-05T15:27:00.002-05:002009-05-05T15:52:36.305-05:00My Love of PlaylistsHere I am, planning my imminent departure for the West Coast, going through song after song planning 50 hours of music for the drive to Vancouver. In perusing my previous playlists and pouring over new ones on the likes of CBC Radio 3, I identified some themes. I made a selection of my favourite 50 (or so) Canadian independent artists of the last 2-3 years. Here they are, with their Canadian connection and an accompanying song to get the discussion going. Feel free to send me your picks in the comment box below!<br /><br />1-10 (Alphabetical)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Caribou</span>- Melody Day (Dundas, Electronica)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Forest City Lovers</span>- Don’t Go (Toronto, Indie Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hannah Georgas</span>- The National (Vancouver, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jean Leloup</span>- Le paradis perdu (Montréal, Eclectic Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lhasa</span>- La Confession (Montreal, Eclectic Global)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Neko Case</span>- Hold on, Hold on (Vancouver, Alt Country)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Numéro#</span>- Chewing-Gum Fraise (avec Omnikrom) (Montreal, Euro-Dance)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Plants and Animals</span>- Goodfriend (Montreal, Indie Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tricot Machine</span>- L’ours (Trois-Rivieres, Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two Hours Traffic</span>- Jezebel (Charlottetown, Power Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Weakerthans</span>- Pamphleteer (Winnipeg, Indie Rock)<br /><br />11-20<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Acorn</span>- Crooked Legs (Ottawa, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Danny Michel</span>- Feather, Fur & Fin (Kitchener, Folk Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Elliott Brood</span>- Edge of Town (Toronto, Alt Country)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The New Pornographers</span>- Adventures in Solitude (Vancouver, Power Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Metric</span>- Rock Me Now (Toronto, New Wave)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Newberry vs. Newberry</span>- Upon the Boat (Peterborough/Toronto, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Po’ Girl</span>- Old Mountain Line (Toronto & Montreal, Urban Roots)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rae Spoon</span>- Come on Forest Fire Burn the Disco Down (Montreal, New Skool Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Royal Wood</span>- A Mirror Without (Toronto, Chamber Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tegan & Sara</span>- Call It Off (Calgary, Indie Pop)<br /><br />21-30<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Arcade Fire</span>- Haiti (Montreal, Indie Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Basia Bulat</span>- Snakes and Ladders (London, Indie Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Be Good Tanyas</span>- Littlest Birds (Vancouver, Alt Country)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Black Mountain</span>- Modern Music (Vancouver, Psychedelic Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Broken Social Scene</span>- Our Faces Split the Coast in Half (Toronto, Indie Rock)<br />Hot Hot Heat- Talk to Me, Dance with Me (Victoria, Dance Punk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jill Barber</span>- In Perfect Time (Halifax, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Jim Bryson</span>- Clear the Crowds (Ottawa, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Souljazz Orchestra</span>- Mista President (Ottawa, Afro Beat/Jazz)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Spymachine 16</span>- Reassured Backpacker in Search of Truth but Still a Little Nervous (Guelph, Post Punk)<br /><br />31-40<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DL Incognito</span>- Universal Love (Ottawa, Hip Hop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Fugitives</span>- French Tattoo (Vancouver, Folk/Spoken Word)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Justin Nozuka</span>- After Tonight (Toronto, Acoustic Soul)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Les Cowboys Fringants</span>- Les Etoiles Filantes (Repentigny, Néo-trad)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Matthew Barber</span>- I’m Gonna settle my Accounts With You (Toronto, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Old Man Luedecke</span>- Roustabout (Halifax, Bluegrass)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rueben deGroot</span>- You Should Put on Your Glasses (Kingston, Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stars</span>- Calendar Girl (Montreal, Indie Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tokyo Police Club</span>- Nature of the Experiment (Newmarket, Garage Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wintersleep</span>- Avalanche (Yarmouth, Indie Rock)<br /><br />41-51<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Classified</span>- No Mistakes (Halifax, Hip Hop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dehli 2 Dublin</span>- African Odyssey (Vancouver, Global)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Feist</span>- One Evening (Calgary, Indie Folk)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Handsome Furs</span>- Cannot Get Started (Montreal, Indie Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mes Aïeux</span>- Le Temps des semences (Québec City, Néo-trad)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Miracle Fortress</span>- Have you Seen in Your Dreams (Montreal, Indie Pop)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Most Serene Republic</span>- The Protagonist Suddenly Realizes What He Must Do in the Middle of Downtown Traffic (Milton, Indie Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pierre Lapointe</span>- Deux Par Deux Rassemblés (Alma, Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Rock Plaza Central</span>- Are We Not Horses? (Toronto, Indie Rock)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Serena Ryder</span>- A Little Bit of Red (Peterborough, Blues/Pop)élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-61224917901357386012008-11-03T00:04:00.004-05:002008-11-05T20:44:12.592-05:00Three ThingsI met Emily eight hours ago. How or why isn't event important right now. I could go on for several paragraphs explaining why she is likely one of the most inspiring people I currently know. None of that matters all that much. What is most important are the questions she asked me tonight before saying goodnight.<br />**<br /><br />Emily: What are 3 things you love and hate most about Ottawa?<br /><br />Me: For sure, number one is that I grew up here. There's a part of me that will never let go of that. I left the lifeless suburb where I grew up convincing myself that I had moved on. Needed to move on. That this place was a barrier to my greatest dreams. That I was going back to a place, clearly figurative, but also quite literal, that one should never go back to...for a while there was no possibility for progress in that.<br /><br />Emily: Wow, you started with hate...<br /><br />Me: Number two...that I seem to find so little people who share my politics. I don't even know what I mean, but I get the sense that in other places I've lived this was more of a given. This place can be conservative and stifling and I always yearn for people who care, deeply, in some of the same things I care deeply about. Or maybe I will always yearn for that because a part of me needs to, because 'being' means yearning for more compassion, for desiring that look someone gets when they're bowled over by some visceral injustice that has nothing to do with them, nothing at least in a spatial sense, but everything in an ethical economy that is all about who and how we love the people we do. <br /><br />You know, for being able to feel the joy of walking in a fading sunlight as the sun drops or rises. Without [the threat of] bombs falling on anybody's head. Of seeing how a note in a song awakens your heart to a new beat. And that beat transports you to your own understanding of the beat before, and then you see how your liberation is so bound up with another's that we are all lost together alone. Those moments make my heart flutter, my passion roar more than any material consideration could ever dare.<br /><br />Emily: Hate it. Just hate it.<br /><br />Me: Hmmph. Are you mocking me?<br /><br />Emily: Never think of it. <br /><br />Me: Number three. I hate that I can't really like someone in this city, you know, someone in any sense, without them knowing one person in my life. There's less than one degree of separation in my life here, and for some reason I can't stand it. You know, I meet someone and their best friend is my classmate's best friend or my friend's hairdresser. Or better yet, her hairdresser's lover, which is fine because she's in a poly-amorous relationship that involves at least six other people you know. And the last time they were all in a room together you developed a now-recurring migraine trying to get your head around all of them shooting the shit over the punch bowl. Did I miss something along the chain of command, or perhaps the Fordist assembly line, 'coz if I was any one of those people and I knew that my partner had fucked or is fucking, without any sign of me or my sorry ass, not just five other people in the room, but the five people who are hovering over her/him like wolves as we gaily discuss the latest Coen brothers film, than I'd have much more than a migraine. I'm not equipped with that technology, because I think it is technology, in that some of us can learn it, and some of us are still using the Commodore 64 and think the graphics are ok.<br /><br />Emily: Like if you break up with someone than it all gets really messy. I get that.<br /><br />Me: Well, it's more than breaking up with someone. I just mean everyone is up in your business, you can't find any anonymity.<br /><br />Emily: I get that.<br /><br />Me: And it's not that people mean anything by it...it's just you know, I hear about X through Y and Z, you know, they do this, and I know them, and you do this too. That type of stuff. So I get to a place and meet my neighbour and I only see her through the things, whether laudatory or awkwardly personal, that I've been told. It becomes hard sometimes to just see the person. <br /><br />Emily: Yeah, it's like pre-determined. <br /><br />Me: Sure. I was going to say warmly personal. Number one. <br /><br />Emily: Whoa, that was fast...<br /><br />Me: I struggled with these things a lot when I moved here. The only way for me to let go of them was to mold them into things I could change. Like you were saying earlier tonight, so much of life is being open at any given moment and I have developed the uncanny ability to wander away from the current moment into archives that hurt bad and I question whether other people out there could ever get it. And realize that nobody is meant to, it's only for me to understand, and feeling lonely because nobody else could get it is a gimmick. A powerfully-programmed gimmick. <br /><br />Emily: You were saying, number one things you love?<br /><br />Me: That at any moment I pretty much know I can find a space where I will feel the loving warmth of somebody I love. Even if at that very moment it might not seem like I love them or that they love me. Just that I'm loved and love. This is embodied in so many places in this city that I already feel nostalgic for when it stops to feel that way. I feel it slipping away, is that loneliness I sense coming on, and then, no, that loving warmth is centre stage again. It spills messily into my body.<br /><br />And number two. I love my relationship with place here. The landscape. How I know the colours will change and the spring will smell in that way only the spring can smell and the snow will fall and I'll get out onto it and rejoice in its appearance. Because if it didn't and I couldn't feel joy on it, I'd slowly wither away into nothing before the bleak coldness and the cracking trees. When the trees crack I know I can't stand outside without mitts and a toque for more than mere seconds. And knowing that, and the contours of the rivers and lakes around me, fills me with strength. And this isn't my way of avoiding any reflection on my role as a settler here in this place, but it is my way of saying that as a settler I'm constantly amazed at even the tiniest amount of knowledge I may have garnered through my time here, and cannot fathom what it must feel like to hold knowledge that overflows my sense of time. <br /><br />And last. I love that one day I'll leave. It doesn't matter when. But I'll leave, and I'll remember like someone who only remembers in their hearts, so they can see the moment as it presently unfolds. Like someone I'm not right now, but can only be with foresight, with a sense of a new geography.<br /><br />Emily: Wow. <br /><br />Me: Thanks for asking. I never get to say that. <br />**<br /><br />And that's why, in this case, spending time with a complete stranger was just what I needed. Emily, I may not know you, but we once wished upon the same falling star, and while nobody else is likely to wish on that same star, the feelings behind the wish will resonate well beyond that moment. Thanks for appearing right then.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-8127470269629817262008-11-02T07:15:00.004-05:002008-11-05T16:58:18.961-05:00Derek Gregory at Counterpoints ConferenceAs one of the organizers of the Counterpoints Conference: Edward Said's Legacy, I had been looking forward with glee to Derek Gregory's keynote address: War, Culture & Imperialism.<br /><br />Gregory's presentation at the University of Ottawa yesterday afternoon -- attended by 120 people, standing-room only -- was fantastic. It was a chilling overview of military (im)precision and strategy from a geographical perspective, one that is sorely lacking in social theory more generally. <br /><br />After patiently laying out the two types of war currently being employed by the U.S. military in Iraq, i.e., precision warfare (smart bombs, remote control drones, etc) and 'armed social work' (winning hearts & minds- re-building schools, etc), Gregory proceeded to debunk the myth of the humanitarian war by demonstrating how 'armed social work' actually solidifies the use of precision warfare. <br /><br />The irony is that this new military humanism is meant to 'people' previously unpeopled military targets, to render empty spaces into human places. Gregory explains how this allows the attention to turn to the space of the encounter between soldiers and civiliians, for example, soldiers handing out candies to children or blankets to mothers, and facilitates our forgetting that behind this image bombs continue to rain down on people a couple of blocks away. <br /><br />Of course, there was much more to Gregory's presentation, including a brilliant overview of the new military operations manual and a succinct explanation of the difference between 'our' wars (the West- smart, disembodied) and 'their' wars (the Rest- savage, visceral ). Overall, Gregory was well worth the hype.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-15438587705435724822008-10-25T07:13:00.005-05:002008-10-30T19:58:37.682-05:00On Warm Fall Weather<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SQMOD_ezJzI/AAAAAAAAAbM/OH_R5u4jPTE/s1600-h/DSC_0088.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SQMOD_ezJzI/AAAAAAAAAbM/OH_R5u4jPTE/s400/DSC_0088.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261064251441882930" /></a><br />It has been a lovely fall here in Ottawa. Besides the glorious colours associated with this season -- the reds and oranges have been stunning -- the weather has been warm and above all, bright and sunny. But this isn't a post about the weather. A few of my friends have referred to the weather as a sure sign of "Indian Summer", a term that very commonly refers to warm fall weather in Canada and apparently in the U.S. <br /><br />There are a few historical reasons generally referenced for this usage, but the most common refers to the perceived deceitfulness of indigenous peoples towards Europeans. In other words, the phrase belongs in the same family of terms such as "Indian giver," which is based on this dubious duplicity. Therefore, in this usage, "Indian summer" would be a "deceitful and treacherous" imitation of summer, which appears to be a return of warmer weather but is really a relatively short-lived "lie" giving way to the "truth" of the usual cold and unpleasant conditions. <br /><br />My point is not simply to debunk this usage or to list the many ways in which it is terribly inept. Instead, I'm writing this because when I hear people use the term "Indian Summer" I have a sudden jolt of pain run through my body and I thought I'd share why. Can we think of other terms that would suitably replace said term without relying on colonial frameworks? I trust with a little imagination we can...élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-31895255450209777442008-10-18T18:19:00.003-05:002008-10-18T18:57:13.271-05:00Canadian Elections VIAfter much discussion with friends, I decided to vote last Tuesday. And I didn't write in a protest vote, but I voted for NDP candidate Paul Dewar, as I had suggested I would in my last two posts (<a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-iv.html">IV</a> & <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-v.html">V</a>). Dewar ended up winning in my Ottawa Centre riding, so it became the first time I voted for a winner.<br /><br />On d-day I just couldn't bring myself to casting a protest vote, or as I had been considering beforehand (<a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/09/canadian-elections.html">I</a>, <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-ii.html">II</a> & <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-iii.html">III</a>), not voting at all. There's something about the strength of the call to duty that proved much too compelling, the guilt lay heavy on my shoulders and in the pit of my stomach come election day, and the option of not participating at all was long gone.<br /><br />My thoughts about the electoral system and the state's role in maintaining inequalities have in no way disappeared. But given my inability to express a clear alternative to voting, or at the very least, a politically consistent version, I decided I'd vote until I could better articulate this position.<br /><br />I suppose this sets me up with a new research project. A long term project no doubt. This may just lead me to vote some more or maybe not, but either way, the feeling in my stomach when I did vote was unsettled at best.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-20698570784928898352008-10-13T15:20:00.004-05:002008-10-13T16:15:24.534-05:00Canadian Elections VElection day is tomorrow and I stepped down from my job as a Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) this past weekend. Luckily Elections Canada has a contingency plan when it comes to people flaking out, so they found a replacement rather quickly.<br /><br />As I've been explaining in my previous posts (<a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/09/canadian-elections.html">I</a>, <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-ii.html">II</a>, <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-iii.html">III</a>, <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-iv.html">IV</a>), I've been working out my position vis-a-vis voting in the next election. This lengthy deliberation has now brought me back to a familiar place and a newer, protest-based place. <br /><br />The first place is the one that would see me vote for a social democratic option, probably the winning candidate in my Ottawa Centre riding. While I have done so in the past, some fundamental part of me has been trying to articulate my critique of the Canadian voting system and the Canadian liberal-capitalist state through various means, including by not voting at all or registering a protest vote, which brings me to option two.<br /><br />This second position sees me voting on election day but registering my protest by writing it out on the back of the official ballot. I have been reflecting on what precisely I would write and after talking with my friend who has seen this year's ballots, I'd say there's ample space to write something in.<br /><br />However, all of this deliberation and participation in debates and discussions about electoral politics has me thinking about casting my ballot for the NDP candidate. Not so much because I've become totally convinced about the importance or perhaps usefulness of voting, though that is without a doubt a key consideration, but more so because I'm a closet political junkie who keeps track of polls and riding-by-riding analysis and all the other stuff that makes the election a hyper-text. Oh, and the other thing worth mentioning is that a good friend of mine who lives out-of-town but can't vote suggested rather kindly, no guilt intended, that I cast a vote for her. All very reasonable...<br /><br />So then, I won't officially decide what to do until I walk up the hill to the polls tomorrow afternoon, but I'll make sure to fill you in. And stay tuned for my post-election round-up and commentary. There are few things I enjoy doing more than watching election coverage. Anybody up for watching the U.S. election coverage with me in a few weeks?élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-60044422813651102752008-10-10T10:53:00.008-05:002008-10-11T06:45:42.551-05:00Canadian Elections IVAs I've been outlining in my previous posts (<a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/09/canadian-elections.html">I</a>, <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-ii.html">II</a>, <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-iii.html">III</a>), I'm deliberating on whether or not I'll be voting this election. Without totally re-hashing the reasons why I'm even having this debate with myself and others, suffice to say that part of my reasoning has been to enter into discussion about some of the inequities embedded in not only the electoral system (e.g., first-past-the-post, no party that fully represents my views, colonial heritage, etc), but also in Canadian society more generally. <br /><br />However, as these discussions with my friends have progressed, both in support of and against my loosely-articulated position, I've begun to shift my own opinion. While I'm not entirely surprised, as I mentioned previously I've been here before, I'm leaning towards a new resolution to the problematic. <br /><br />First, I've decided to step down as Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) in my Ottawa Centre riding. I won't get paid for the three-hour training session I went to, but besides being uncomfortable with upholding some of the regulations (e.g., citizens-only, no face coverings, etc), I'd rather spend 15 hours of my time working on my own work than working for Elections Canada. And, if I give up my spot it'll open a spot for someone else who might need the money more than I do. So, while being a DRO was to be a central plank in my expanded election coverage, I'll be taking it all in from another vantage point. <br /><br />Second, according to all polls and even progressive voting sites, my riding is a safe NDP riding. MP Paul Dewar is poised to win again. Good for him and the NDP, in fact, I like living in an NDP riding. Knowing this and the way the first-past-the-post system works, my vote will be relatively worthless in terms of electing someone, even though it is kind of fun to vote for a winner for a change.<br /><br />Because of this, I feel free to play with a couple ideas to operationalize my protest beyond writing about it here and chatting about it with friends. The first idea arrived on my lap via two friends, both of whom record their protest by writing it on the back of the ballot on election day. I'm seriously considering this option, given my general resistance to voting and the fact that the NDP, the only party I'd vote for anyways, will win my riding. Having been trained as a DRO, I know that DRO's must record why a ballot was rejected in the official poll book. So then, this option allows me to participate <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> protest at the same time. <br /><br />The next option has come to my attention through facebook. There's a vote-swapping group that allows, say, someone living in Ottawa Centre willing to vote Green swap their vote with someone, say, in Oshawa, where the NDP lost to the Conservatives by 500 votes last time around. So, I vote Green for Jessica in Oshawa and she votes NDP for me there. Pretty straight-forward, though it probably works better when it's a NDP-Liberal swap, since the Greens only have a chance of winning in a handful of ridings in Canada. But there's no way I'm voting Liberal. <br /><br />The other options are a) not to vote at all and record my protests in the ways I already have been and will continue to in the work I do or b) to vote NDP straight-up. But, as I've been suggesting, at this moment in time right now, I'm leaning towards writing in a protest vote or vote-swapping, primarily because it's innovative and it strikes me as a different kind of protest. <br /><br />So then, I'll be back soon with more reflections.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-40783542527545604412008-10-08T07:05:00.009-05:002008-10-09T22:04:16.954-05:00Canadian Elections IIIAs I outlined in my previous posts on the subject (<a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/10/canadian-elections-ii.html">I</a> & <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/09/canadian-elections.html">II</a>), I have a new job as a Deputy Returning Officer in my Ottawa Centre riding. I went to the three-hour training session Monday morning, where I found out about the details of my job and even some of the mysterious inner workings of the Canadian electoral system. Spoiled ballots, rejected ballots, scrutineers, poll clerks, screens, deflections, oaths, and the difference between swearing and affirming. <br /><br />Funny enough, despite my previous lack of enthusiasm for voting, or shall I say, my skepticism in the avowed benevolence of the State system, I'm leaning more towards voting than at any other time during this election cycle, mostly because the guilt of not voting is weighing heavily on me. I think it may have something to do with wanting to counter or respond to the trespasses done in my name. Before I hop onto any voting bandwagon though, there are a few key points sitting rather uncomfortably in the pit of my stomach.<br /><br />Since my original post, I've had a number of conversations with friends about the importance of voting. A couple dear friends are steadfastly not voting, one choosing to write in her reasons why on the ballot itself, which basically amounts to a non-counted rejected ballot, the other staying at home to protest the state's inaction when it comes to a number of burning social issues, notably the result of War on Terror-like policies and laws on certain racialized groups. However, it seems the majority opinion is that voting for a social democratic party is voting for the betterment of our society, in other words, a more just society. To be clear, I've never doubted that a NDP government would make things better for a larger proportion of the population, economically, socially, etc. In fact, as I stated before, I have voted for the NDP before.<br /><br />But, if we accept that certain governments will make things better for more people, let's say through universal child care or human rights legislation, how do we explain that for many groups living in Canada very little has changed in the course of the 140 years since Confederation? My question to those who are so keen to vote is how do we account for this discrepancy? Do we not risk participating in a system, one that rewards those who participate as being 'good' and 'ideal' citizens doing their proper duty, that in fact further solidifies inequalities in society?<br /><br />Where does this idea that the government will do better for those most in need come from? I have received a flurry of emails and group invites urging me to vote, just vote for anybody but the Harper Conservatives. To be honest, I don't really see the difference between the Harper bunch or the Liberals, the only two parties with a chance of forming a government. Remember how the Liberals gutted most of the limited social programs that existed in the early 1990s? Thanks a lot Jean Chrétien, now sometimes nostalgically remembered as a socially-aware, if not casually inept, beacon of reason and fair-play. <br /><br />The liberal, capitalist nation-state exists and has existed to marginalize, exploit, and manage certain groups of people (indigenous peoples, 'immigrants', people of colour, etc). After all, the Canadian version of the state is premised on the disavowal of indigenous sovereignty. In other words, our so-called freedom is premised on indigenous unfreedom. It is no small wonder that many indigenous nations/peoples refuse to participate in Canadian elections. <br /><br />It's also no coincidence that such marginalization and exploitation occurs across national boundaries in eerily similar ways. Voting is meant to provide the mass of citizens, however this privileged group of people is selected in a given national community, the opportunity to enact citizenship, however inequitably citizenship is determined. <br /><br />Besides the clear inequalities manifest in status, region, age, and many other notable social factors in the make-up of the electoral system, all tipped to the dominant race, gender and class hierarchies, election season brings on a number of platitudes about voting as a civic duty. My training session was chalk-full of such liberal doctrine. <br /><br />What I'd like to suggest is that true change is not going to occur because of the benevolence of the state. This has never happened, the state after all has helped and continues to help constitute inequalities. It does not mitigate against inequalities, this is a central fallacy of liberal political theories. This is why those who vote with the hopes of making things better for a larger group of people will continue to be disappointed. It's a no sum game. Getting more water from your prison guard is something significant and no doubt needed, but it won't get you out of prison.<br /><br />I think political action needs to continuously occur in relation to the state and its nefarious structures, after all, they continue to exert an extreme amount of pressure on certain groups of people, but I also think it's key to develop ideas and communities that have little to do with the state and its many structures. To articulate a vision of society that radically de-centers the state and builds capacity within various communities in society. <br /><br />One important question then, becomes whether one can do this while at the same time voting, keeping an eye on the prize, a stateless, radically devolutionary society where groups of people form communities of affinity and organize their politics accordingly. Since I don't see this anywhere on the horizon, voting for a social democratic party like the NDP might just seem reasonable, after all, water when someone needs it is better than no water at all. Reasonable yes, if I can only get around the fact that the Canadian state and what it represents have been the harbinger of terror in the lives of so many people here and abroad. If only I can get around that.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-25328906803405999192008-10-05T12:27:00.005-05:002008-10-08T12:56:10.645-05:00Canadian Elections IISome of you may have read my <a href="http://leventrose.blogspot.com/2008/09/canadian-elections.html">recent post</a> about the upcoming Canadian Elections. At the fear of sounding bloody repetitive, I'll say only that in the post I articulate a very brief and general argument about why I'm thinking of NOT voting in the upcoming elections. <br /><br />After this post, I went to a lovely dinner at my friend Tracey's place and she urged me to express my opinion, one she clearly didn't share, with the group. This basically led to a fairly heated debate about the importance of voting in a liberal democracy, one I won't get into here. <br /><br />In any case, a few days after the debate, my friend Lindsey forwarded an Elections Canada online job application to a few of us, urging us to sign up and come see who actually votes on election day. I bit, and next thing you know I'm a Deputy Returning Officer in my Ottawa Centre riding. This basically means that I need to supervise an election site on election day for 14 hours, making sure everything goes smoothly and then overseeing the ballot count at the end of the evening. I have a three hour training session tomorrow morning, and then presumably I get to be an elections manager.<br /><br />Not bad for someone who might not even vote. But what I will do is write about my training experience and then my experience being a DRO for all of you. Think of me as a correspondent gone to cover the inner-workings and corruptions of the liberal-capitalist elections system in Canada. <br /><br />Stay tuned!élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-26972477194379659712008-10-05T10:08:00.006-05:002008-10-11T07:03:26.504-05:00Counterpoints: Edward Said's Legacy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SOjZIT0SOzI/AAAAAAAAAbE/qmWZeT-hzOA/s1600-h/Counterpointsposter.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SOjZIT0SOzI/AAAAAAAAAbE/qmWZeT-hzOA/s400/Counterpointsposter.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5253687702109436722" /></a><br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.modernlanguages.uottawa.ca/PDF/CounterpointsSchedule.pdf">here</a> for full schedule in pdf format.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Counterpoints: Edward Said's Legacy</span><br />October 31 to November 2, 2008<br /><br />University of Ottawa and Carleton University<br /><br />This bilingual English/French colloquium celebrates the works of one of the world's most compelling intellectuals, the Palestinian-American thinker Edward Said (November 1st 1935- September 23rd 2003), author of <span style="font-style:italic;">Orientalism</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Culture and Imperialism</span>, and <span style="font-style:italic;">Out of Place</span> among other famous books.<br /><br />The colloquium revolves around the theme of "Counterpoint," extensively used by Said as the interplay of diverse ideas and various "discrepant" cultural experiences. As Said writes in <span style="font-style:italic;">Culture and Imperialism</span>: "As we look back at the cultural archive, we begin to reread it not univocally but contrapuntally, with a simultaneous awareness both of the metropolitan history that is narrated and of those other histories against which (and together with which) the dominating discourse acts." Following Said's legacy, this colloquium envisions a polyphonic, interdisciplinary engagement from fields as broad as comparative literature, sociology, anthropology, history, postcolonial studies, Diaspora studies, musicology, and political science with a special focus on Middle Eastern politics.<br /><br /><br />FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER 2008, 6:00 pm.<br /><br />UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA<br />Desmarais Building - Room 1160<br /><br />OPENING WORDS<br /><br />John Osborne<br />Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Carleton University<br />George Lang<br />Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa<br /><br />KEYNOTE ADDRESS<br /><br />MARIAM SAID<br />Followed by the screening of the movie<br />Knowledge is the Beginning<br />Directed by Paul Smaczny<br />(English and Arabic with English subtitles, 90 minutes)<br /><br />Reception will follow<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XsyJZC70ysI/SOg67XnzNaI/AAAAAAAAApk/kF-Kmu6dXFQ/s400/04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_XsyJZC70ysI/SOg67XnzNaI/AAAAAAAAApk/kF-Kmu6dXFQ/s400/04.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Photo from Knowledge is the Beginning<br /><br />SATURDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2008<br />University of Ottawa, Desmarais Building<br /><br />8:30 Registration<br /><br />9:00 Coffee and breakfast<br /><br />9:30 – 11:00 Session I<br /><br />Panel 1: Edward Said en Théorie (Desmarais – 1120)<br />Moderator: May Telmissany (University of Ottawa)<br />Discussant: Rachad Antonius (UQAM)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Cameron Bushnell</span> (Clemson University), The Underlying Terrain of Said’s<br />Contrapuntalism.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jeff Sacks</span> (University of California - Riverside), Disappearance.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Kathleen Gyssels</span> (Antwerp University), Saïd Among the Caribbeans: V.S. Naipaul, Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">David Austin</span> (The Alfie Roberts Institute, Montreal), Edward Said and the Caribbean Exile Tradition.<br /><br />11:00 – 12:30 Session II<br /><br />Panel 2: Discourse and Subjectivity (Desmarais – 1120)<br />Moderator: Daiva Stasiulis (Carleton University)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Prasad Pannian </span>(Avvaiyar Govt. College for Women), Edward Said and the Politics of Subjectivity.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ali Shehzad Zaidi</span> (SUNY-Canton), The Notion of Discourse in Said’s Orientalism and Foucault’s History of Sex.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Stefan Hoffmann</span> (University of Berlin), Said's Incomplete Discursive Constructivism.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Zainab Amery</span> (Carleton University), Legitimizing Orientalism. The War on Terror and the Construction of the Enemy Other.<br /><br />Panel 3: Teaching Orientalism (Desmarais – 1130)<br />Moderator: Carl Davila (SUNY – Brockport)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Carl Davila </span>(SUNY-Brockport), Teaching Said: Culture Discourse Meets Culture Critique.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Michael Fickess</span> (SUNY-Brockport), ‘America was founded to destroy Islam’: A Genealogy of Misguided Patriotic Fervor in ‘Post-9/11’ America.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Alexander Morgan</span> (SUNY-Brockport), Violence and Seduction: Orientalist Imagery in Digital Role-Playing Games.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Catherine Snyder</span> (SUNY-Brockport), Framing Torture: Photographs of Lynching and Abu Ghraib.<br /><br />12:30 – 1:30 Lunch Break<br /><br />1:30 – 3:00 Plenary Session<br />(Desmarais – 1120)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">DEREK GREGORY</span><br />University of British Columbia<br />WAR, CULTURE AND IMPERIALISM<br />Introduced by Marc Brosseau<br />(Chair of the Department of Geography, University of Ottawa)<br /><br />3:00 – 3:15 Coffee break<br /><br />3:15 – 4:45 Session III<br /><br />Panel 4: Visual Cultures and Contrapuntal Representations of Otherness<br />(Desmarais – 1120)<br />Moderator: Dorit Naaman (Queen’s University)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Selma Zecevic</span> (York University), Gruss aus Sarajevo: ‘Moorish’ Buildings and Fragmented Memories of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Adel Iskandar</span> (Georgetown University) & Aliaa Dakroury (Carleton University), Towards A Theory of Humanism in the Arab Cinema: The Intellectual Influence of Edward Said on Youssef Chahin’s Cinema.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Walid El Khachab </span>(York University), The Veils of Otherness: Cinema and the Contrapuntal Salome.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jessica Anne Pinto</span> (Carleton University), Covering Dowry Violence: American Media and the Orientalization of Gendered Violence.<br /><br />Panel 5: The Geo-Politics of Power (Desmarais – 1130)<br />Moderator: Simon Dalby (Carleton University)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Christiane Wilke</span> (Carleton University), Legal Orientalism, Counterpoints and Silences: Discourses of Legality after German Unification.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Fiona Mackenzie </span>(Carleton University), Taking Said Elsewhere: Community, Property and Nature in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Omar Dewachi</span> (Harvard University), Terra incognita: Epidemics, Technology and the Medical Imaginative Geography during the British Mandate in Iraq.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Samer Abboud</span> (Susquehanna University), Reclaiming ‘the global’ and ‘the<br />political’: Edward Said and International Relations.<br /><br />SUNDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2008<br />Carleton University<br /><br />8:30 Conference shuttle from the Novotel to Carleton University<br /><br />9:00 Coffee and breakfast<br /><br />9:30 – 11:00 Session I<br /><br />Panel 1: Literature and Beginnings (Dunton Tower - 2203)<br />Moderator: Nahla Abdo (Carleton University)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Brenda Vellion </span>(Carleton University), Poetry Reading from Mahmoud Darwish. Homage to Edward Said.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Dorit Naaman</span> (Queen’s University), From Beginnings to Culture and Imperialism.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Badea Warwar</span> (York University), Said, Poststructuralism, and the Question of (his) Beginnings.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Himani Bannerji</span> (York University), Two Faces of Postcolonialism: Modernism, Postmodernism in Theoretical and Political Projects of Edward Said and Dipesh Chakrabarty.<br /><br />11:00 – 12:30 Session II<br /><br />Panel 2: On Exile and Border Crossings (Dunton Tower - 2203)<br />Moderator: Justin Paulson (Carleton University)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Smadar Lavie</span> (Macalester College), South/South Feminist Coalitions and The Art of Staying Put: Crossing the Palestine/Israel Border with Gloria Anzaldua.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Mark Ayyash </span>(York University), Edward Said, Writing in Exile.<br />•<span style="font-weight:bold;"> Jason Mohaghegh</span> (Northeastern Illinois University), Exile and the Post-Human: Literary and Existential Trajectories of the Outside.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sobhi al-Zobaidi</span> (Simon Fraser University), Digital Nomads, between Homepages and Homelands: Or, Meeting Edward Said in the Future.<br /><br />Panel 3: Contrapuntal Readings (Dunton Tower - 2017)<br />Moderator: Christiane Wilke (Carleton University)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Cristina Perissinotto</span> (University of Ottawa), Orientalizing Manuscripts: the<br />Relatione delle feste di Costantinopoli between Damnatio and Laudatio.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Irina Mihalache </span>(Carleton University), Narratives of the Postcolonial Dish: The Project of Authenticity in North African Restaurants in Paris.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Lisa Brenner</span> (Drew University in Madison), Like Poetry Without Words: The Galilee Multicultural Theatre.<br /><br />12:30 – 1:30 Lunch Break (Senate room, Robertson – 608)<br /><br />1:30 – 3:00 Plenary Session<br />(Senate Room, Robertson - 608)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JOSEPH MASSAD</span><br />Columbia University<br />FORGET (REMEMBER?) SEMITISM<br />Introduced by Blair Rutherford<br />(Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University)<br /><br />3:15 – 4:45 Session III<br /><br />Panel 4: Neo-Orientalism and the Cultural Politics of Representation (Dunton Tower- 2203)<br />Moderator: Erica See (University of Ottawa)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Chris Richardson </span>(University of Western Ontario), Orientalism at Home: The Case of “Canada’s Toughest Neighbourhood.”<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Shelina Kassam </span>(OISE/ University of Toronto), How to be a Good Muslim 101: Creating Idealized Muslims on Little Mosque on the Prairie.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Zahra F. Rasul </span>(OISE/ University of Toronto), Racism in the Name of Feminism: Gendered Orientalisms, Cultural Politics, and Western Feminism post 9/11.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">May Alhassen </span>(Columbia University), Planting Olive Trees, Zaatar Seeds, and Hip-Hop Beats: The Reclamation of History, National Consciousness, and Humanity Through Narratives as Cultural Art Forms.<br /><br />Panel 5: Orientalist Knowledge (Dunton Tower - 2017)<br />Moderator: Cristina Perissinotto (University of Ottawa)<br /><br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Artur Lozano Méndez </span>(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Techno-Orientalism: Reiteration, Change, Diversification.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jalal Dehzani </span>(Carleton University), Ontological Crisis of Orientalist Knowledge and Misunderstanding Kurdistan.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bernhard Leistle</span> (Carleton University), Ethnography, Possession and Otherness in Morocco.<br />• <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ning Du</span> (Carleton University), The Many Faces of Confucianism: Shadows of Self and Other in Modern Knowledge Production of the Past.<br /><br />Closing Words:<span style="font-weight:bold;"> Nahla Abdo </span>(Carleton University)élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-89447059346580802902008-09-30T07:42:00.006-05:002008-10-08T12:56:34.496-05:00Some thoughts on the concept of racializationLast week sometime I was listening to CBC radio, something I have done so many times, it has become pseudo-ritualistic. You know, the voices, the theme music, the topics all blur into one, it's almost soothing. Almost, except I find much of what I hear offensive in some way. I had a friend, who listens to the CEEB religiously, once tell me that the only show she didn't find hurt her regularly in some fundamental way was the weekly gardening show. Somehow they managed to never denigrate indigenous people on this one show, no small feat in a settler country built on such trespasses. And the CEEB, despite its liberal leanings, is there to express such nationalist visions.<br /><br />There I was, middle of the day listening to the CEEB and the talk turns to the so-called Chinese dairy products scandal. You know, some chemical has been found in dairy products, both wet and dry, and there has been a mass recall in China, one that has affected a few products here in Canada. I'll remind people that this comes on the heels of the listeriosis debacle here in Canada, where none other than Maple Leaf Foods, probably <span style="font-style:italic;">the</span> national meat brand, poisoned hundreds of people with contaminated cold meat cuts, leading to the death of nearly 20 people across the country.<br /><br />Anyways, here I am listening to this show, and the type of crap people were saying was infuriating. Interviewer: "So, are you going to buy Chinese products?" Respondent(s): "Never, I don't trust Chinese products, I never have, I will not go to Chinatown."<br /><br />Ok, so yeah, the whole dairy product thing is sketchy. I agree. Luckily I don't eat dairy or meat products, partly because of these types of situations. But the way the respondents were racializing all things Chinese was stunning. It was like they were talking about aliens who eat their kids and love their rodents. God, it made me sick to my stomach. <br /><br />Never in all of the endless discussions about the listeriosis outbreak did anyone ever invoke the moral or ethical will of the people behind the outbreak. Nor has there been any discussion of their race and/or ethnic make-up, even though many of those responsible for the outbreak have appeared regularly in the media to assuage the public. Can you imagine what would've been said if Maple Leaf Foods was run by any number of hyphenated-Canadians. Instead, I have to listen to some bullshit news report basically tarnishing the 'Chinese' with unsafe food handling practices, lower health standards, questionable moral way-points and worst of all and yet not surprising, an unhealthy disregard for human life, especially children, since many of those affected by the contamination have been children. <br /><br />And this folks is how racialization works. Sure, we could talk about this in relation to racism, and it surely is an example of how the power of the racial order is upheld, but it also serves as a good example of how the process of racialization works. A whole series of values, beliefs, attitudes, and meanings are clearly being associated here with a group of people, one that is seen as racially outside the white norm. That's how it becomes possible to talk about never going to Chinatown, because the people in question are seen as untrustworthy and dirty. Of course, the meanings associated with being Chinese change and shift, they aren't static, but it is quite amazing how what was being said about the Chinese in Canada on the CEEB last week was so similar to what was being said in the early 20th century, most notably by the White Canada terrorists. Why do racial, and one could add gender and sexuality, codes have such staying power? They clearly get expressed differently, nobody interviewed on the CEEB was walking through Chinatown with a sign demanding the immediate deportation of all Chinese people in Canada and the cessation of all immigration from China, but the ideas about what it means to be Chinese, especially at times of crisis like the SARS outbreak in Toronto in 2003 and this more minor one around dairy products, are there, stubbornly clinging to life.<br /><br />There was no reason to talk about so-called Chinese values and/or Chinatowns in this newscast. Just like there was no reason to talk about the dozens of grocery store chains that carry contaminated Maple Leaf meat products or who is, in the racial sense, behind that outbreak. But it happened and it happens all the time. That's racialization at work. Some, like the white executives and their representatives, are not racialized, race is not part of the story at Maple Leaf Foods, while others, in this case some apparently shady group of Chinese food producers are very clearly racialized. The dairy product outbreak occurs <span style="font-style:italic;">because </span>of race, strange logic yes, but no coincidence.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-48081374187951503112008-09-12T16:18:00.005-05:002008-09-12T17:02:10.378-05:00An Encounter With the PastI was hit hard in the gut yesterday. I was having a great day, you know the type of day where the sun is shining bright and the future looks ever-so-inviting. I was on my bike, heading to a union bargaining committee meeting with management, something I absolutely love doing. <br /><br />There I was, stopped at a light, listening to Peter Gabriel, and I heard a honk over the din of Gabriel's scratchy voice. I've never been a big fan of his, partly due to this aural feature of his music, but on this day I had synched a version of 'City of Angels' onto my ipod, which incidentally I had heard on <a href="http://www.radioparadise.com/">Radio Paradise</a> the week before. If you haven't tuned into RP yet, I strongly recommend it. <br /><br />But back to my story. I'm waiting at the light and at a particularly melancholic moment in the song I hear a honk, which I invariably think is aimed at me. I look to the left and straight back and nothing. I look to the right and a cute-looking woman drives by, rolling her right turn on the red. What I do care? I smile large. I peer over to the next car to pull up beside me, something I have trained myself to do over the years, whether stationary or in motion at 120km/h. <br /><br />A large smile beams at me and my heart races a touch. "Hi, how are you?" I can read her lips over the lilting soundtrack on my ears. My heart races still more. I take my headphones off, I can feel myself melting into the pavement, but I resist it. I will not sink to that level. <br /><br />"Good, enjoying the sun." I hear myself, confident, and it doesn't seem possible.<br /><br />She retorts, very enthusiastically: "Man, I can't believe it, I was just thinking about you!" The way she draws out 'just', as if she was singing a folk song, has always been endearing. I think it may one of her favourite words. <br /><br />"Oh yeah." I wasn't, but I thought that might not be the right thing to say. "Cool." It probably isn't, but it seemed like my turn to say something else, and 'cool' and 'interesting' are my two favourite things to say that mean pretty much nothing but sound ok. <br /><br />"It's really nice to see you." She's still beaming, as if the sun is shining too bright in her eyes. She sounds sincere. "It's nice to see you too." And then for what feels like an eternity we both stare into each others' eyes, in a way I've rarely done with anyone, as if we're playing some infantile game of "who will blink first" with nothing at stake. <br /><br />I look away. I feel happy to see her, but I wonder, almost cryptically, what does she want from me?<br /><br />The conversation continues in this way, with her smiling larger than I have perhaps ever seen her smile and my mind wandering to her intentions, for the minute it takes the light to change. In that uncomfortable moment, there's a slight pause, before I say, rather matter-of-factly, "Well, it was nice seeing you. Have a good day." And I mean it. I don't want to pursue anything more. <br /><br />Then I go about my day and I think back to that brief moment, the type of moment I used to obsess over (what will i say? what will she say? how will i feel?) and I feel a deep sense of satisfaction. I was nice and friendly to someone who treated me more or less like shit. I'm relieved. And feel stronger than I did before. I thought I'd fail the test, but I passed with flying colours. I wouldn't change a thing.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-41712476687732469712008-09-10T16:44:00.004-05:002008-09-10T17:08:48.361-05:00Visitor Overview<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gearthblog.com/images/images606/aisi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.gearthblog.com/images/images606/aisi.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />For regular visitors to Courir dans le vent rose, you may know that I track visitors to my blog. I haven't given an update since last December, so here's the latest news about visitors from the period that covers June 1st-September 10th, 2008 according to Google Analytics.<br /><br />992 Visits<br />279 Absolute Unique Visitors<br />1,559 Pageviews<br />1.57 Average Pageviews<br />00:03:10 Time on Site per Visit<br />26.31% New Visits<br /><br />My top content pages over that period as measured by percentage of page views were as follows:<br /><br />1. Home page--> 77.4%<br />2. Rainbow Lake Trail Whistler--> 2.76%<br />3. Howe Sound Crest Trail--> 1.22%<br />4. Edisto Beach State Park--> 0.96%<br />5. Short Stories label--> 0.96%<br /><br />My top traffic sources (referrals) as measured by percentage of page views were as follows:<br /><br />1. Direct to blog--> 38.41%<br />2. Google--> 18.41%<br />3. Facebook--> 15.83%<br />4. maecallan.blogspot.com--> 15.52%<br />5. blogger.com--> 2.62%<br /><br />My top search engine keywords as measured by percentage of page views were as follows:<br /><br />1. Edisto Beach Campground--> 9.68%<br />2. Howe Sound Crest Trail--> 3.76%<br />3. Kilmainham Gaol--> 3.23%<br />4. leventrose--> 2.15%<br /><br /><br />Thanks to everyone who visited!élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-46757781947370505072008-09-09T21:49:00.004-05:002008-10-08T12:57:02.914-05:00Canadian ElectionsThose who know me could attest to the fact that I don't talk much about electoral politics. I don't see the state-based political system as a central space to engage in struggle over the meaning of living an ethical and just life. In fact, I think the electoral system, with its roots in liberal ideologies, has many built-in inequalities deeply structuring it. Because of this political analysis, one I'm admittedly not developing in this post, I'm a lukewarm voter at best. I've voted NDP a couple of times when I thought they might win, and Green once when my friend was running for them. Whatever the case, I don't believe that any of the parties would change much in society. And this isn't some narcissistic, relativist argument. I just think that anything other than a devolution/revolution, a mixed-bag of socialist and anarchist political theories if you will, can fundamentally change societies in a way I can support wholeheartedly. <br /><br />As an example of the futility of the current system, I take none other than the current debate about the televised leadership debate. Elizabeth May, the leader of the Green Party, was up in arms yesterday when she found out that the television consortium that decides who gets to sit in on the debates has decided not to include the Greens alongside the usual suspects: Conservatives, Liberals, NDP and Bloc. This decision came after the NDP, Conservatives and Bloc threatened to boycott the debate if the Greens were given a spot on the broadcasts. <br /><br />Before this sad episode, I was thinking about voting for NDP candidate Paul Dewar, an NDPer who has a real chance of winning in my riding. The same NDP that continuously harkens about bringing in change, about being more equitable, about getting rid of the old parties, can't face up to some healthy challenge from the Greens. Not that the Greens are clean in the entire affair either: they made some deal with the Liberals where their leaders agreed to not run against each other, which apparently led to the Liberals supporting May's appearance in the debates. Whatever. The whole thing is political theatre at its worst. Whenever I follow the news about such items, I feel like I'm in a time machine 2,000 years in the future watching an episode of "The Lost Years: 1700-2100 AD," and it's so funny I want to cry. But then I remind myself that some of the talking heads on the podiums with the beautiful photo-ops in the background not only really believe they might be able to change certain things for those most in need, but many of them will actually have the ability to make decisions that affect the lives of millions of people, often, as is the case with liberal, capitalist societies, to the detriment of the majority of folks out there. <br /><br />So I'll keep following the stories about how Stephen Harper is more masculine than Stéphane Dion, and how Jack Layton would make a better Prime Minister than Elizabeth May, but not without wondering who the fuck cares? What about the fact that we live in a society where the huge majority of people have accepted that a grossly disproportionate amount of indigenous people live in dire poverty? I could list off any number of issues that will not be discussed in any real, sustained manner during these elections, but I won't bother right now. Instead, I'll suggest that those who care about the issues that aren't going to be discussed address these issues in their own ways, amongst their own communities, and let those around them know that they are doing so. And if you want, tell them that you're disengaging from the elections, not because you don't believe in freedom or justice or the fuzzy principles of democracy, tell them it's precisely because you do care. About people, animals, birds, fish, trees, water, and all those other beings and things that animate our world. <br /><br />No leaders' debates. No political attack ads. No commercials selling you a constructed image. No polite, parliamentary debate about what the definition of torture is. Or whether there are too many immigrants. Or welfare Moms. Or criminals in communities of colour. There are too many inequalities that go unmentioned every day. Because of this, I'm not voting, and this time I'm telling people why.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-58062542290303029542008-08-31T20:12:00.008-05:002008-08-31T23:12:47.327-05:00How to Fight Loneliness?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLtIwwqiiJI/AAAAAAAAAa8/Bdm5GJ8q-vg/s1600-h/DSC_0010_1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLtIwwqiiJI/AAAAAAAAAa8/Bdm5GJ8q-vg/s400/DSC_0010_1.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240862593909950610" /></a><br />It's that creeping feeling deep in your gut, you could almost mistake it for anxiety or excitement, polar opposites of each other yes, but just a clever biological mirror image, similar to what Lacan called an imago. But this is oh so subtly different that it is difficult to grasp. Loneliness. Perhaps my worst fear, but with age and a little help from my friends, it passes almost unnoticed.<br /><br />At the moment I'm feeling a little bout of it coming down the pipes. Bubbling deep in my abdomen, rising up in a chest-tightening grip. Deep breaths and calm mind; deep breaths and calm mind might just be my mantra for the evening.<br /><br />I arrived back from my marvelous 18-day vacation, during which time I spent a significant amount of time with no less than six of my closest friends, and I suppose even more depending on how I calculate such intimately qualitative data. In any case, most of this time was spent on intensive back-country hikes in the Coast Mountains of BC and the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, where it was basically my friends, me and a few of our distant animal, bird and/or plant cousins. Caribou, ground squirrels, lichens, mosses, alpine wildflowers, hawks, eagles, elk, deer, Dall's sheep, rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, mosquitoes, midges, damselflies, etc, etc, you get the picture.<br /><br />Even on the occasions where I went off on my own for the day, something I am more than prone to do, after all, taking in the bush on my own is a privilege I seldom enjoy these days, I knew someone was just around the proverbial corner, though it was more likely a 4km hike through alpine meadows, down steep precipices and back up mud-encrusted trails. It was that feeling of presence, knowing that someone was there in more than a metaphysical way, but in the sense of an ass warming a bench in a hut or boiling some tea or putting up a tent under the setting sun up ahead. Presence. At this moment, back at home in my large house by myself, I miss that presence. Though I remain confident that I can find it within me, I miss it, and right now feeling lonely is like a fine, serrated knife stabbing my heart. I've lost something dear to me that I should've savoured longer, like those Okanagan peaches I've been lusting over since I arrived in BC. But if there's something I've learned lately, 'shoulds' are a recipe for longing for a past that never was and never could be. <br /><br />I enjoyed myself when I was away. And now I'm back and I miss my friends and I'm alone and it hurts. They're far away and even if I was surrounded by some of my favourite local people right now, and there are many of them, I'd feel dreadfully alone, because the ones I miss are not going to appear. I'll ride the feeling out on my own and be happy I did when it passes. Otherwise, loneliness turns into fear that it never will.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-159899812538538212008-08-31T08:46:00.009-05:002008-08-31T09:27:09.870-05:00Tonquin Valley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLql_src7JI/AAAAAAAAAac/IveR0u7wVZo/s1600-h/DSC_0026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLql_src7JI/AAAAAAAAAac/IveR0u7wVZo/s320/DSC_0026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240683630142745746" /></a><br /><br />Last week several of my friends and I headed to the Tonquin Valley in <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/jasper/index_e.asp">Jasper National Park</a> for a five-day hiking trip in the backcountry. Our last multi-day foray into the wilderness was two years ago in <a href="http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/kill.html">Killarney Provincial Park</a> in Ontario, a far cry from the spectacular Rocky Mountains. While Killarney had its own particular charm, partly due to its proximity to my place of birth, the Tonquin Valley is without a doubt in a league of its own. <br /><br />On our first night we stayed at the <a href="http://www.hihostels.ca/alberta/en/index.aspx?sortcode=2.5">Edith Cavell hostel</a> underneath the mammoth Edith Cavell peak. This gave us a small taste of things to come. The hostel was well-maintained and the price was right. A great option for anyone needing a place to stay before heading out to the Tonquin.<br /><br />The Tonquin Valley trailhead begins at the parking lot just outside the hostel, an ideal location to start a day-long hike. On our second day we set out on the trail to our final destination, <a href="http://www.alpineclubofcanada.ca/facility/wates.html">the Wates-Gibson Memorial Hut</a>, operated by the Alpine Club of Canada. The trail wanders along the Astoria River until it veers south towards Chrome Lake and the Eremite Valley. It is a moderate-difficult trail, nearly 18kms to the hut. I'd say pack as light as possible and expect rain, lots of it. The trail is often wet and muddy in most spots.<br /><br />Once we arrived at the hut, we made a quick dinner and went to bed early to prepare for our next four days of day hikes through the Tonquin and Eremite Valleys. The most stunning landscape around the area was the marvelous Amethyst Lake, surrounded by the Ramparts to the west, Clitheroe Mountain to the east and the impressive Raptor Meadows on the lakeshore. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLqm8sf4EtI/AAAAAAAAAak/-UO0piNkPQA/s1600-h/DSC_0074.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLqm8sf4EtI/AAAAAAAAAak/-UO0piNkPQA/s320/DSC_0074.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240684678066213586" /></a><br /><br />The other major highlight was our last day hike up to the Fraser Glacier, home to BC's Fraser River. Climbing up to the Continental Divide in the driving wind and stinging snow was well worth the privilege of playing underneath the glacier at nearly 2,500 metres. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLqoNYL0acI/AAAAAAAAAa0/hT-QeNt7Cwo/s1600-h/DSC_0220.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLqoNYL0acI/AAAAAAAAAa0/hT-QeNt7Cwo/s320/DSC_0220.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240686064182782402" /></a><br /><br />The one major disappointment of our trip was that I didn't get to see the elusive grizzly bear. We did spot a large caribou, a moose and some elk on our trip, along with a number of circling birds of prey. I'd recommend the Tonquin Valley to anyone who wants relatively easy access to glaciers with little human traffic and good chances to view the endangered woodland caribou. Stay at the ACC hut if you have the money, the valley is rainy and cold almost all the time, though the three Parks Canada campgrounds around Amethyst Lake are nice and comfortable, and the warden cabin is just above the lake on the main trail in case of emergencies. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLqnbVMST2I/AAAAAAAAAas/-peNnb2IcPc/s1600-h/DSC_0121.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLqnbVMST2I/AAAAAAAAAas/-peNnb2IcPc/s320/DSC_0121.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240685204385976162" /></a>élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-25014392773057724912008-08-23T07:09:00.005-05:002008-09-01T11:20:54.313-05:00Vancouver<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLAGWxr6KPI/AAAAAAAAAaM/I5fE3_peg-Y/s1600-h/DSC_0035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLAGWxr6KPI/AAAAAAAAAaM/I5fE3_peg-Y/s320/DSC_0035.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237693354996279538" /></a><br /><br />I've had a love affair with Vancouver for ten years now, in fact, our diamond anniversary is in two months. I've traveled there seven of those years on at least fifteen different occasions, for reasons as diverse as love, work, and play. There's no city I feel quite the same bond with, something I chalk up to the distance. Yes, my heart does grow fonder. <br /><br />This past trip I stayed with a friend in Kitsilano near Blenheim & Third. Lavender was wafting on the sea breeze and blackberries grew like massive weeds throughout the neighbourhood. There are several small parks around here -- the type of parks that drive me crazy in other cities because they serve solely as doggy outhouses -- but in Vancouver, they are lined with benches that look out over the ocean towards downtown to the east and West Vancouver and the mountains to the north. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLAHByjhPsI/AAAAAAAAAaU/S-FFHyCRQVY/s1600-h/DSC_0032.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLAHByjhPsI/AAAAAAAAAaU/S-FFHyCRQVY/s320/DSC_0032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237694093963902658" /></a><br /><br />It's true that the city is getting a serious facelift for the 2010 Olympics and cranes are almost as prominent on the landscape as those famous Coast Mountains. While I was chatting with friends who work in the social services sector both on the coast and in the interior, they spoke of how some service providers in the city have been giving people in the Downtown Eastside one-way tickets to the interior, in this case, Vernon, in order to 'clean-up' the city. Besides this gross Olympic-ification, the battle over Insite -- the needle exchange facility -- and the uber-gentrification of the eastside are longstanding battles that are simmering nearly out of control. The Olympics seem to have provided politicians and developers with all the right excuses to bulldoze the residents of the eastside out of existence. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLAE0rCm88I/AAAAAAAAAaE/z9N9xCj_EKk/s1600-h/DSC_0015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SLAE0rCm88I/AAAAAAAAAaE/z9N9xCj_EKk/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237691669585261506" /></a><br /><br />Despite these extravagant transgressions, I'll no doubt be returning to Vancouver, my heart in hand.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-27343570947691434682008-08-19T20:27:00.010-05:002008-09-01T11:21:47.751-05:00Similkameen Valley<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKwvLuhd09I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/GNdREYcooRc/s1600-h/DSC_0030.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKwvLuhd09I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/GNdREYcooRc/s400/DSC_0030.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236612345238508498" /></a><br /><br />There's a place nestled deep in BC's southern interior that is dear to me, a magical place where I once lived and worked, the type of place everyone must live in at least once in their life. The Similkameen Valley, and particularly the small towns of Cawston and Keremeos, are gems full of ranchers, organic farmers, wine makers, artists, and an array of eccentric characters who never cease to amaze me. But, beyond the people, the valley, unique for its dry, desert-like climate, is an ecological wonder. The wild sage along Highway 3 south of Cawston is mystifying, though it's faced with being replaced by row after row of vineyards. I don't drink wine, but if I did I might just stop after seeing so many grapes replace hectares of my beloved sagebrush. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKwtwytN3xI/AAAAAAAAAZs/nsOhCftyRt8/s1600-h/DSC_0028.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKwtwytN3xI/AAAAAAAAAZs/nsOhCftyRt8/s320/DSC_0028.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236610782993440530" /></a><br /><br />If you have a chance, visit this valley. Veer off the highway anywhere past Keremeos going towards Osoyoos, and visit any number of organic farms. The Similkameen has the largest concentration of organic farms in North America according to my reliable sources, and they're happy to welcome visitors. I went down to Mariposa Farms off Sumac Road near the Washington State border at Nighthawk and picked my own peaches, plums and apricots earlier today, and it was heavenly. And did I mention cheap too. I even bought some low-impact, organic wine from Forbidden Fruit Winery, another valley star. Grab some fruit, and maybe some wine, all organic and fresh, and sit under the searing sun down by the Similkameen River near Kobau Park in Cawston or even in downtown Keremeos. The views of the mountains combined with the fruit juice dripping from your chin are well worth the ride.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKwwi_IqLxI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/CrHZdf8QNHQ/s1600-h/DSC_0082.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKwwi_IqLxI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/CrHZdf8QNHQ/s320/DSC_0082.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236613844346482450" /></a>élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-62933836134711904302008-08-18T09:28:00.012-05:002008-09-01T11:17:43.372-05:00Howe Sound Crest Trail<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmYViF7-4I/AAAAAAAAAZM/atnA2IEWxMk/s1600-h/DSC_0044.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmYViF7-4I/AAAAAAAAAZM/atnA2IEWxMk/s320/DSC_0044.JPG"border="0"alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235883537491295106" /></a><br /><br />My good friends Eloginy, James and I braved the unusually hot coastal weather last week and climbed the Howe Sound Crest Trail. Starting at Cypress Mountain, we set out along the trail in probably the three hottest and driest days the BC coast has ever seen. Low to mid-30s for three straight days, it was glorious. <br /><br />The 27.6 km trail was very well marked throughout the Coast Mountain range, leading us up and down a number of summits, through mountain meadows, down rock slides, and around amethyst-coloured lakes. If you've gone 10m without seeing one of the orange markers-- whether trail tape hanging from a tree, trail diamonds nailed to trees or paint on a rock-- you've probably gone too far. <br /><br />The toughest section of the trail was by far the approach to The Lions. Famous for their daunting presence over the East Vancouver landscape, The Lions are two towering rock monuments that act as beacons throughout most of the trail. From our campsite on St-Marks' summit, we wound our way up Unnecessary Mountain, and back down and then up towards the Lions. Once you find yourself at the bottom of the West Lion, satisfied with the stunning view, don't rest on your laurels. Coming down from here, there are several technical sections, including going across a slide at the southern end of the base of the West Lion and then making your way up over the Lion cub, a smaller peak between the East and West Lion. We found a site to camp two summits over from the Cub, after crossing a steep traverse with a rope and chain, giving us a sense of being in some low-budget S&M melodrama--> Ropes & Chains: The Lions Roar. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmZKLZ8xDI/AAAAAAAAAZU/OcNAo-qLaBQ/s1600-h/DSC_0067.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmZKLZ8xDI/AAAAAAAAAZU/OcNAo-qLaBQ/s320/DSC_0067.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235884441934283826" /></a><br /><br />One important thing to consider is that there are few water supplies up in this section of the trail. We were lucky to find some piles of snow in the higher up sections, a bit late for mid-August, but given the hot weather, it was possible to find snow melt. However, by the end of this second day, we had one litre left in our bottles when we set up camp on top of the summit, with 2 hours to go before the next water source. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmaYKHytSI/AAAAAAAAAZc/LdaRYUu0k9c/s1600-h/DSC_0139.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmaYKHytSI/AAAAAAAAAZc/LdaRYUu0k9c/s320/DSC_0139.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235885781619488034" /></a><br /><br />The best part of the trail was the very rewarding traverse of Brunswick Mountain. After walking by the newly-rebuilt Magnesia Meadow emergency hut, the trail veers west towards Howe Sound, and then north as it hugs the middle section of Brunswick. The wildflower meadows were marvelous walking through here. Purples, oranges, yellows, reds, I counted at least 5 different flowers growing directly below the Brunswick summit-- the smell was intoxicating. <br /><br />The highlight of the trip in my book was the descent from the ridge between Brunswick and Hand Mountains to the chain of lakes running behind the Brunswick summit. When I reached the first of three lakes, I dropped my 50 lb pack, stripped off my sweaty clothes, and dove into the glacial water. And then I finally unleashed my fly rod and caught some pretty mountain trout. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmbEQBvydI/AAAAAAAAAZk/doIeqW79DLk/s1600-h/DSC_0193.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKmbEQBvydI/AAAAAAAAAZk/doIeqW79DLk/s400/DSC_0193.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235886539118987730" /></a><br /><br />Later that night we made it to Deeks Lake, where we camped for the third night before descending to HWY 99 at the newly- built Porteau Rd. exit. It's a tough spot to catch a ride, so I'd suggest walking the 2 kms to the Porteau Cove PP rest stop to find a ride or to park a car. <br /><br />Overall, I'd say this trail is well worth tackling, but only if you have mountain experience and are a competent map reader. Some of the sections are awe-inspiring, but could also bring on some serious fears, considering the steep drops and sheer skill required to complete the trail. And don't forget to fill your water bottles as often as possible.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-36539884478035652432008-08-12T09:26:00.002-05:002008-08-12T10:18:35.746-05:00Québec's 400th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKGeOtEtoaI/AAAAAAAAAY8/pPKo-vz9bEE/s1600-h/DSC_0019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SKGeOtEtoaI/AAAAAAAAAY8/pPKo-vz9bEE/s400/DSC_0019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233638217435947426" /></a><br /><br /><br />I returned from the 400 year celebrations in Québec City recently, holding onto my sanity ever so tenuously. I had traveled into the belly of the nationalist beast and been bombarded for almost two weeks with the quatercentenary celebrations. Museum exhibits, art exhibits, street festivals, films, concerts, rallies, monuments, books and other displays of Québec's long and distinguished history. It was all the eye could see. Stretches of tourists, myself included, taking in the story about Champlain's fateful landing 400 years ago. I had been expecting more debate, more controversy, at least from the so-called Québec sovereigntists, but there was only a whisper among a deafening current of pride and exhilaration. <br /><br />Luckily I found a few people who wanted to highlight the madness of commemorating the origins of French colonialism. Pace the photo at the top of this entry, courtesy of the anti-colonial contingent at the march I attended with some friends July 3rd.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-17538610385865592008-06-22T12:55:00.004-05:002008-06-23T19:20:11.062-05:00On Love and Associated FeelingsI met this girl 10 days ago. I was out on a Wednesday afternoon, wandering the city in search of a restful place to work, my usual mid-week <span style="font-style:italic;">modus operandi</span>. I set myself up in this cute little café-like establishment in a neighbourhood I had never been to, despite my years of living in its relative vicinity. <br /><br />She walked in wearing a smart little black sun dress and unkept short-cropped hair. Something about her jumped out at me, knocking out all of my pretensions of getting work done in the said café. Instead, I lay fixated on her being, this invisible aura that lovingly embraced her. As soon as I caught her eye she smiled a smile so pure and joyous that my stomach's visceral reaction said much more than my words ever could. I knew it right then and there: if she wanted it, she had my love. And after three decades of feeling, I can honestly say that I've never felt quite like that before. I watched her drift effortlessly between customers and friends, her smile beaming radiant life into the café, moving those around her to as-yet uncharted ground. I was at once inspired and deeply intrigued. I left the café several hours later, after having only a very brief conversation with her about some inane pseudo-political point of contention, and felt the "maybe I'll see her again" kind of regret I had grown accustomed to. <br /><br />Instead, I found a message in my inbox from the girl-in-the-black-sundress telling me she wanted to see me again. I felt lucky. And moved. And nervous. Frighteningly so. <br /><br />Now we've seen each other a few times in the 10 days since we met, and I miss her. She left 2 hours ago to her son and her other responsibilities, and I don't even really know her, but I miss her. I want her and whatever she brings along with her right next to me, I want to feel her, to be in her presence. Last night was this magical thing. Every time we kissed along the river trail we walked down, I nearly had to brace myself from falling, the feeling of love just transcended any real sense of space I may have had. I was floating. She said she felt drugged, I'd say I felt caressed. In fact, when we kissed, these long passionate kisses that I must say everyone needs to experience at least on a weekly basis, my body quivered. Down my spine, up my arms, to the top of my head all the way down to my toes. It was exhilarating. I wanted to sit with that feeling, just digest it fully. Let it sink in. I told the feeling it was welcome in my body at any time. I wanted it to stay for a while. <br /><br />There is this one precious moment from that night that I feel most deeply. And no, it has nothing to do with discarding items of clothing. We were lying on the couch cuddling and she looked up at me: "You know, you've brought life to my life." And though what she said was sweet, it was the look in her eye, the way a small little tear welled up before disappearing, the sincerity of her emotions, that moved me. Above all, it was the light in her eyes- she shone brighter than even the first day I met her- that embraced something so deep inside me that I'm unable to fully articulate it. I won't even try, I'm just going to let it wash through my body and thank this beautiful person for receiving my love so fully. Whatever else happens, bringing such joy to someone's life is a blessing. And I'm quite sure my eyes shine in much the same way as hers.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-83947287889476630232008-05-15T07:22:00.003-05:002008-05-15T07:37:57.367-05:00A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman by Sharon Rudahl<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thenewpress.com/title_images/1343.cover.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.thenewpress.com/title_images/1343.cover.bmp" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The best part of this book is Emma Goldman's life as a radical anarchist. If you don't know much about her, then this book is a fun starting point. Rudahl explores many of the key periods of her life, from her departure from Russia at a young age, to her organizing years in the U.S., to her eventual deportation. The novel spans her entire life, giving readers a concise overview of Goldman's compelling biography. <br /><br />Unlike other accounts of her life, Rudahl enters into the intricacies of Goldman's everyday, giving us a glimpse into Goldman's many key relationships. We find out that she was as ethical and spirited in her personal relationship as she was in her public persona as one of the leading radicals in early 20th century America. <br /><br />Despite the exciting narrative, one Rudahl puts together based on Goldman's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_My_Life">auto-biography</a>, I struggled through much of the novel. I found Rudahl's drawings almost distracting in their busyness. In addition, the structure of her panels left me regularly confused as to where to skip to next. The story itself remains strong, it'd be pretty difficult to take the life out of Goldman's story, but Rudahl's water-colouresque renderings left me wondering how much i would've enjoyed the story otherwise.<br /><br />I'd say pick up the graphic novel at the nearest library, read about Emma Goldman's inspiring life, and thank Rudahl for sharing it in this format.élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5501702466908514252.post-56433033364860439982008-05-15T07:09:00.003-05:002008-05-15T07:18:44.742-05:00Writing ProjectTwo weeks ago my friend Denise dropped an idea into my lap that was impossible not to love. She had found two old photos in an antiques store, one of a woman and one of a man, both circa 1920 or so and taken in Québec (Sorel and Sherbrooke). We decided to write each other love letters in character. I was Théophile and she became Marie-Evangéline. We then made a small exhibit with the letters and photos at her 1920's-style speakeasy event. The highlight was when we got to read them aloud. Here's my letter, and the photo.<br /><br />*************************************************************************************<br /><br />Ma charmante Marie-Evangéline :<br /><br />Je dois le dire directement, ma belle, avant de raconter les plaisanteries de ma vie ici à Montréal. Tu me manques. Comme une partie de mon corps a été enlevé, je suis démuni sans le bonheur de ton esprit tout près de moi. Mais l’espoir de vous voir encore bientôt me donne le courage de persévérer avec mes études ici à l’école normale. <br /><br />Depuis notre dernier séjour ensemble à Sherbrooke, tu reviens dans mes pensées à tout bout de soufle. Je me sens coupable, parti vers un nouveau futur sans toi, ma lumière resplendide. Avez-vous la bonté d’âme de me pardonner? D’ouvrir votre Coeur aux sentiments profonds qui surgissent? J’ôse rêver d’une journée pleine de grâce dont je serai près de vous encore une fois. <br /><br />La vie ici à Montréal est sans cesse. L’école est située sur la ferme Logan, tout près du plateau principal de la ville. Je me sens chanceux d’être impliqué dans une formation si distinguée, quoique la grande majorité des maîtres de notre pays ont passé par ses portes. En effet, les religieux sont bien préparés pour l’enseignement, et ne perdent aucun moment pour nous avertir des grands dangers séculaires qui nous menacent dans la ville. <br /><br />La semaine passée nous sommes allés vers le centre-ville, jusqu'à la grande rue St-Laurent. Là, nous avons rencontré des Protestants et même des Juifs. Notre ordre faisait du travail missionaire parmis les non-Catholiques, tandis que nous, les étudiants de l’école normale, visitions la cathédrale principale. Quel bel édifice Evangéline, j’espère le voir un jour avec vous.<br /><br />Je dois retourner à mes études, nous avons un examen préliminaire demain matin, mais c’est difficile de m’y mettre pleinement avec les mémoires dansantes de votre sourire si près de mon cœur. L’auteur Prévost nous a dit que l'esprit perd sa force en s'assujetissant trop à l'empire des sens, mais c’est justement la perte de force émergeant de mes sentiments qui me rend amoureux de vous, ma jolie Marie-Evangéline. <br /><br />Avec la foi de mon Coeur, Esprit et Ame<br /><br />Votre Théophile<br /><br /><br />Montréal, 20 mai, 1922<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SCwpoMzBkYI/AAAAAAAAAY0/f2kL_pf5b9Q/s1600-h/th%C3%A9ophile.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4aq62xGyihk/SCwpoMzBkYI/AAAAAAAAAY0/f2kL_pf5b9Q/s400/th%C3%A9ophile.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200577440312824194" /></a>élan vitalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516791739623754513noreply@blogger.com1