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July 7th, 2009
12:19 am - One thing leads to another (or, how I'm learning to love Indian calssical music)
Some time ago, someone on my f-list (I believe it was ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) __ashram) posted a link to download the Putumayo Presents: India CD. It's basically a collection on modern Indian music that combines traditional elements with more 21st century instrumentation. Anyway, one of the songs included an instrument that sounded a lot like a hammered dulcimer.
So, I googled "indian hammered dulcimer," which presented me with a number of links. One of those links included a couple of YouTube videos. I particularly like the one I've posted below.
Pay attention to the guy in the poofy hair. He's Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and he's playing the santoor (Indian dulcimer). But even more, pay attention to the guy on the far right with the glasses. He's playing the tabla like a god! Anyway, enjoy...
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July 5th, 2009
12:33 am
A brief clip from Jean Renoir's The River (1951).
Lady Radha dances for Lord Krishna:
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July 4th, 2009
04:26 pm - 5 words
Another meme.
Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your LJ and explain what they mean to you.
Here are the 5 words given to me by __ashram.
- BOOKS - When a book is written well, it transports the reader into its world. This applies to fiction and non-fiction. It presents our imagination with images and senses that seem real and palpable. Movies and TV present you with a story that already includes the visuals. In books, whole worlds are created in our minds. The author opened my eyes was the great Thomas Hardy. When I read Far From the Madding Crowd, or The Mayor of Casterbridge, or (especially) Tess of the D'Urbervilles, it was as if Hardy himself had reached across time and set me as an invisible observer of the people in the universe he'd created.
- CAFÉS - The café is a perfect place to indulge in the love of books, friendship, coffee, people watching. In a café, you can sit by yourself and read, or get together with one or two friends to talk. In a café, it's like you're in a little bit of paradise. So far, with my limited world-travel experience, my favourite cafés have been in Portugal. This means that I need to go to Paris, Milan and Vienna to compare and contrast.
- FUTEBOL - Futebol is what the Portuguese speaking world calls football/soccer. But to me, the word "futebol" is specifically linked with Brazilian football. I will keep it simple: the English may have invented modern football, but Brazilians made it beautiful. It's like the difference between having sex out of a sense of duty or obligation, and having the kind of sex that leaves you spent, wondering where those 4 hours went, and still wanting more.
- MOVIES - Much like books, good films have a way of lifting us up out of the day to day of our own here-and-now, and transporting us to other times, other worlds, other universes. They open our eyes to new ways of seeing things just by telling a story, not sermonizing about what we ought to do or not do. Or, and this is sometimes more important, movies can make you laugh until you have tears streaming down your face.
- WINNIPEG - I don't remember how we got here (I mean, I KNOW how we got here, but I have no memory of it). I just know that Winnipeg has been my home since I was 7. This city is often a punchline to a national joke. It's often held up as an example of violence and poverty in a country of peace and plenty. It's a place where our national shame (the way we treat our indigenous peoples) is played out daily on our sidewalks and homeless shelters. But it's an honest place. We don't delude ourselves, and rarely do we try to be something we're not. We have a music and arts culture that rivals any other in N. America. Do you work in a safe environment and earn a decent wage? Thank Winnipegers (and Chicagoans and Bostonians) who took to the streets in the general strikes of May 1919. I was forced to come here by my parents (and a bit of fate), but I'm not complaining. Well sometimes I do...
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02:19 pm
Saturday, July 4, 1998.
Eleven years ago today, my life felt wrecked. I was moving out of a home and a relationship. I was leaving behind someone I adored (but who felt she couldn't live with me), as well as Maggie, one of my favourite cats in the world. In fact, one of the roughest days I had in the aftermath of that move was when I went for a walk, and happened to see a wood cut-out of a little black cat in an apartment window. I felt like I was going to have a complete breakdown there and then. Walking and crying is not something I like to do on busy streets.
Anyway, there's my "independence" day story.
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June 26th, 2009
01:20 am
Oh, one more thing...
One of the BEST Michael Jackson moments ever. We see him interviewed by none other than Hugh Laurie:
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01:05 am
Weird day today.
I've been mostly silent these days, as many of you can tell. Mostly due to a kind of heat wave we've been experiencing here. I get miserable when it gets too hot and I tend to withdraw even more than usual. Oh well, summers are quite short up here, so this won't last too long.
One an wonderfully bright note, I received a lovely package in the mail yesterday. Three books, two DVDs and, best of all, a hand-written letter. Stuff like that pulls me out of the miserableness.
Anyway, nighty night. Long day tomorrow. Well, as it's past midnight here, I guess I should say, "Lond day today."
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June 18th, 2009
08:06 pm - Peregrine Falcons
One of the joys of summer in Winnipeg is watching Peregrine falcon chicks.
Let me explain a bit.
About 2 blocks from where I work, a mating pair of endangered Peregrine falcons have set up their nest on a ledge of the Radisson Hotel. And, the Peregrine Falcon Recovery Project, in conjunction with the hotel and Shaw Communications (which is my internet service provider), have set up a webcam to keep an eye on the pair and their chicks. Every day at work, on the top right corner of my monitor, I am able to follow the progress of this little family. So far this year, I've been able to see the chicks grow from tiny little white fluffs just out of the eggs. Within a few weeks, all three (should they all survive) will be big enough to take their first flight.
This is an immense source of happiness for me. And it would be lovely if all of you could share in that joy.
There are a couple of ways for you to keep an eye on this little raptor family. If you want to view the webcam via the host site, go here. However, a much better option is to use a media player (such as VLC for Mac, or Windows Media Player for Windows).
For VLC, click on "File" and then choose "Open File." The "Open Source" window will appear, and you will see four options. Click on "Network." At left will be 3 choices. Choose HTTP/FTP/MMS/RTSP. Then, in the input box marked "URL" copy and paste the following URL:
http://mfile.akamai.com/32965/live/reflector:45367.asx?bkup=57936
Then click "OK" and within a couple of seconds, it should start streaming.
For Windows Media Player, simply open the player, press CTRL-U (Open URL) and copy & paste the above URL into the input box. Click "OK" and it should start streaming within a couple of seconds.
Enjoy.
And if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
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June 17th, 2009
10:47 pm
I watched a movie tonight that was surprisingly good. I rented it for 3 reasons:
- Sir Ben Kingsley is the lead, and Sir Ben is a genius of god-like proportions (watch Sexy Beast and tell me I'm wrong)
- a lot of it was shot here in Winnipeg, and I love seeing how my city becomes somewhere else (in this case, Buffalo NY and in one or two scenes, San Francisco)
- a friend of mine has a brief scene with Sir Ben and Luke Wilson (I'll post the trailer at the end)
I like the fact that I rented it for some pretty superficial reasons, and I actually wound up enjoying it thoroughly.
Oh, right, the name of the film. Silly me. It is a relatively obscure little production from 2007 called You Kill Me. It's a deceptively light story about an alcoholic hit man for the Polish mob in Buffalo who is sent to San Francisco to sober up. The humour is subtle and slightly dark, as is the romantic element.
Anyway, I won't bore you with too much detail. Here's the trailer. My friend (Darren Wall), plays the driver at the tollbooth near the end of the trailer:
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June 15th, 2009
09:49 pm
I am still feasting on books these days. Last week, I read this and this.
The first one convinced me that I needed to own the five part trilogy by Douglas Adams, so I went out and got the box set.
The second book reminded me of just how amazing the Griffin & Sabine trilogy was. If you've never read anything by Nick Bantock, you need to start there. You could probably read the entire trilogy on a lazy afternoon. However, the beauty is in how the story is constructed. It's basically a series of letters and postcards between two people. But the sheer genius of it is that the letters are actually in envelopes, and you need to pull out and unfold the letters in order to read them. God, I still remember that delight when I first got the books, and pulled that first letter out of its envelope.
Whew, I'm all flushed...
Anyway, I am now reading The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which is part 2 of the five part trilogy. By Douglas Adams.
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June 10th, 2009
09:33 pm - Userpic meme
If you would like to play along ...
1. Reply to this post, and I will pick six of your icons.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon glee.
These were chosen by olivetree:
1. Prof. Murray
In the world of etymology and lexicography, Prof. James Murray is a giant. He was the driving force in the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, and (I believe) it was his idea to include samples of usage quotes along with the definitions. I use this pic very rarely, and usually when I'm geeking out over literature or words. You can read about Sir James Murray in The Professor and the Madman and The Meaning of Everything, both by Simon Winchester. Brilliant, brilliant books.
2. It's not a pink shirt
Another rarely used pic. That's me, sitting beside my bookshelves, wearing one of my favourite shirts. It looks pink, but it most assuredly is not. It's more a very light lavender. I know, that really doesn't butch it up at all. I also use this pic mainly when I'm writing about books or reading.
3. Neko
I use this pic mostly in a Neko Case comm I belong to. The picture is taken from a photo shoot she did with cutie.com (which no longer exists), in which she was photographed in a pool hall in various stages of dress and undress. :) Neko is that rare combination of talented musician that transcends genre, and is also dead sexy.
4. Pelé
This pic is one of my favourites. I use it mostly in a couple of soccer communities. I love this picture because it exemplifies the absolute best in sport. On the left is Pelé (Brazil), arguably the greatest footballer of all time. On the right is Bobby Moore (England), arguably the best fullback of all time. The picture was taken after Brazil and England played at the World Cup in 1970. It was an extremely hard-fought game that Brazil won 1-0. But after the game, these two great players embraced like brothers, and exchanged shirts. The picture tells me that sport is about competing hard, but not forgetting important things like friendship and respect.
5. Guaraná
My favourite soft drink in the world. Quintessentially Brazilian. It is a lightly carbonated beverage made with the guaraná fruit, which is a stimulant on par with caffeine. In fact, you'll find guaraná in many "energy" drinks these days. But don't be fooled, kids. Only buy Antarctica brand guaraná. The rest are impostors. And if you can, buy it in glass bottles. So much better. I use this pic mostly when I write about Brazil.
6. Fuck the Magpies
Another userpic I reserve mostly for soccer communities. In the pic, I'm wearing a late 1980s Sunderland AFC shirt (a team in the English Premier League, sometimes). Their greatest rival is Newcastle United FC, who, because of their black and white shirts, are known as the Magpies. In the picture, I'm giving the famous English "V" sign, which is essentially "fuck you."
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June 4th, 2009
11:31 am
Hey! Check it out. I've been boingboinged!
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June 3rd, 2009
08:48 pm
A conversation I'd like to have:
BEN: Look! Don't ask me these simple questions all day. If you stop yourself before asking and THINK about how you may be able to solve the problem yourself, we'll all be much happier. Especially me!
CO-WORKER: OK.
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Damn! I thought when that other one quit, I'd heard the last of this inane, solve-it-yourself bullshit.
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June 2nd, 2009
10:37 pm
Are you a mom who wonders how to discuss menstruation with your daughter? I may be able to help. Check out this pamphlet published by the Kotex company in the 1930s:
(click on image for the rest of the pamphlet at my Flickr account)
You can also view it as a slideshow.
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May 31st, 2009
04:43 pm
Looks like I know what I'll be doing in the summer of 2014. Curitiba is one of the cities in Brazil that will host FIFA World Cup matches. :)
In other Curitiba-related news, my team (Atlético Paranaense) currently sits at the bottom of the table in the Campeonato Brasileiro. :(
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May 30th, 2009
11:40 pm
Haven't updated much. I've been on a crazy reading jag recently and have been devoting most of my free time to books. Will try to post a bit more in the upcoming days.
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May 28th, 2009
10:36 pm
I needed a shave:
( Shaven )
Oh, also, I was bored. :)
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May 26th, 2009
09:07 pm
One of the many reasons I love Canada: the Parliamentary Cats, strays who live and are cared for in a shelter on Parliament Hill. They even have access to the houses of Parliament and help control the rodent population.
Mr. René Chartrand looking after his charges:
The cats of Parliament Hill Blog. Keep scrolling down if you click on this link. Many, MANY pictures of kitties.
Seriously, this kind of stuff makes me almost sick with happiness. :)
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May 25th, 2009
11:26 pm
Weird coincidence.
I just started reading a book (Past Mortem by Ben Elton), in which protagonist is a man who's dealing with unresolved issues re: a teenage crush, the day after I had vivid and odd dreams about a girl from high school on whom I had a wickedly huge crush.
I find myself a little spooked at some of the similarities between myself and Detective Inspector Edward Newson.
Anyway, back to reading...
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