Lectures - Part Two

Just in from an extremely good lecture which took place on campus after work this evening. The School of Management has just launched a new lecture series on public policy and spirituality, and the inaugural lecturer this evening was Terry Waite.

As Waite is a figure I have long admired, I went along to the lecture. But I was an eedjit to think I could just wander in five minutes before the lecture was due to start. The auditorium was packed out, and I ended up sitting on the floor in the atrium outside with scores of other people, listening to the lecture over loudspeakers. It was OK though - Waite has a rich, resonant voice, and is very pleasant to listen to. (God knows he's honed his public speaking abilities over the years!)

He spoke at length about the years in which he was held hostage in Beirut, and the spiritual dimensions of his work and life, both during and since that time. Moving stuff.

Lectures - Part One

Had word today that the MacKay Lecture Series for this year is to be on book history and the history of reading! Woot woot! Very much looking forward to attending these.

*does happy librarian nerd-girl dance*

East Coast Music Awards

I know I must be bored when I'm watching the ECMAs, which are live on TV tonight. However, they've been greatly redeemed this year by being hosted by Julian, Ricky and Bubbles from Trailer Park Boys.

The acts were the usual shambolic assortment of Celtic fiddlers, grungy rockers and laughable attempts at hip-hop, with one or two decent acts thrown in for credibility. However, Bubbles has just closed the show with a rousing acoustic rendition of "Liquor & Whores". Bwahahahaaaa...

Bleak House

Well! I've just finished watching Bleak House, the last episode of which I recorded last night. It's been on Masterpiece Theatre on PBS for the past six weeks. Nothing to be said, except that it was absolutely brilliant. Star turns from Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock, Charles Dance as Mr. Tulkinghorn, and Phil Davis as Smallweed. In fact, the whole cast was excellent. Who knew that Johnny Vegas could act?!?

'Scuse Me While I Tinker

Lately, thanks to the oogly MySpace templates that abound on the web, I've been trying to teach myself a bit about cascading style sheets, HTML colour codes, and the like. The upshot of this is that it will allow me to make some changes to the template of this blog - which is great as the brown background I had here previously was pretty drab.

So just ignore me over the next little while as I play with colours 'n' stuff, OK?

New Sarah Waters

Yay! Sarah Waters has just published a new novel, The Night Watch. However, unlike her previous three excellent novels, which were all set in nineteenth-century England (Affinity, Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith), her new one is set in wartime London. No matter - I will want to read it anyway.

On reflection, I think I secretly want to be Sarah Waters. You know, brilliant girl with 'useless' PhD goes on to fabulous and lucrative career as celebrated historical novelist.... ;-) She's a nice person too - I met her briefly once. She came to a conference I organised in Dublin in 2004.

The Night Watch got an excellent review in yesterday's Grope 'n' Flail. Interestingly, the book was reviewed by Emma Donoghue, whom I know from my days at WERRC, and who is herself a rather good historical novelist.

Off to Gaol With You, Mr. Irving

It's so rare for historians to make the news these days. But on Tuesday, the independent British scholar David Irving was sentenced to three years in an Austrian prison for Holocaust denial (story here).

In case you're not familar with Irving, he's a historian of the Third Reich who famously lost a libel case in the High Court in England in 2000. He sued a fellow historian, Deborah Lipstadt, and her publisher, Penguin Books, for portraying him as an anti-Semite and Holocaust denier and impugning his reputation as a historian. He lost the case in spectacular fashion, with the judge concluding that he was "...an active Holocaust denier; ...anti-Semitic and racist."

Irving has spent the last few years since that judgment in well-deserved obscurity, having lost his home and declared bankruptcy as a result of the £2 million in damages awarded to Lipstadt and Penguin. But last autumn, he travelled to Austria and was picked up by police, who have had a warrant for his arrest since 1989. His trial for Holocaust denial (in which he pleaded guilty) ensued, and despite his claims of a change of heart regarding his odious pro-Hitler views, he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in a Vienna prison.

I want to re-acquaint myself with this man's story and have a think about it for a bit. I'll post more on the subject in a couple of days.

Strange, Yet True Song Titles

Oh my God. BBC Radio 2 is playing a song at the moment called "There's a Guy That Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis". I'd heard of this before, but assumed it was a joke and that the song didn't really exist. But it obviously does.

Last time this happened, I was trapped in a mini-van travelling from North Sydney to Halifax some years ago, with a driver who was fanatical about old-style country music. Amongst the musical horrors I heard that day was "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?" And here I thought that was just a naff chat-up line...but no, it's a real song too.

*shakes head*

Ticket Atlantic

Wow. I'm totally impressed with Ticket Atlantic, the Metro Centre's online ticket seller.

Friday morning, after I had all those problems trying to get the INXS tickets, I fired off an email to Ticket Atlantic, telling them what had happened and that I wasn't very happy about it. I honestly didn't expect any sort of response, except maybe something of the "uh, sorry" variety. I wrote to them mainly to make a point (as they only just went online with a ticketing service a few months ago).

So, you can imagine my amazement when I checked my email this morning and found a response from them. They apologised for the trouble I'd had, and offered me three tickets in the Lower Bowl Gold Circle (which is up near the stage). I was absolutely amazed. They told me to call the box office this afternoon to make arrangements, which I did. They are exchanging the crappy seats I got in the upper bowl for these new seats - which turned out to be in the section nearest the stage, fourth row! Amazing seats!

Needless to say, I'm delighted. I guess it really does pay sometimes to speak up if you're not happy about something.

Bow To My Greatness

...for I am the ticket queen. Heh heh.

I have tickets for INXS and the Junos, woot woot! Though not without the usual drama.

INXS purchase yesterday very fraught. Logged in at 9 am on the dot, was allocated reasonably good seats in the lower bowl for myself, W., and G. Went to the checkout and the site slowed to a crawl. Entered my credit card info...system dithered endlessly...finally got the White Screen of Death. And of course, when I went back in to re-select seats, about 15 minutes had passed and the best seats available were in the upper bowl. Feh - I hate it when that happens. But no matter - at least we have tix (the show was sold out within an hour, and the Metro Centre seats about 10,000).

Then this morning - wonder of wonders - I got two tickets for the Junos! And with absolutely no fuss either - weird. I figured I didn't have a chance with those, as there are apparently relatively few available for the general public (most are going to industry types and their hangers-on). I started queuing at 9.45, the system let me in at 10 am, and by 10.02 the e-tickets were in my mailbox. Mind you, we'll be seated way the hell up in the gods, but I didn't expect better. I logged back in at 10.06 just to check how things were going - sold out! Whew.

24 Hour Party People

Naff title (despite the pedigree), good film. I recorded 24 Hour Party People off the TV last week and watched it last night (as I'd managed to miss it when it came out in the cinema in 2001). A quite enjoyable chronicle of the halcyon days of Manchester from the late 70s to the early 90s, when New Order and the Happy Mondays cranked out the hits at Factory Records, and the Hacienda was the hottest club on the planet. Then it all came crashing down...last I heard, the Hacienda has been converted into luxury flats.

Ticket Anxiety

I'll be in a ticket-buying frenzy for the Metro Centre tomorrow and Saturday.

Tomorrow morning, tickets go on sale for INXS, who are playing Halifax on 9 May. Never been a big INXS fan, but they're not bad. And given that their new singer, JD Fortune, is from the back woods of Pictou County, NS, the place will probably be packed to the rafters. Anyway, it will probably not be a bad evening's entertainment, and it will be a good excuse to get a gang together - W. and G. will likely come with us, and maybe a few others.

On Saturday morning, tickets go on sale for the Juno Awards, which are being hosted here this year on 2 April. Not at all sure I'll be successful in getting tickets for that - the demand is going to be massive, but I'll try. Coldplay are scheduled to perform - Coldplay!! Not that I'm a rabid fan of them either, mind, but they're huge. I'm rather more excited by the possibility of seeing Broken Social Scene, myself. I had hoped that Stars and/or the Arcade Fire would perform too, but it's unlikely. The Juno nominations were announced this morning and I was quite shocked to see that the Arcade Fire have been nominated in a mere two categories (Songwriters and Video of the Year). What the hell?!? Whatever.

I feel like I should go to these shows just because I can. Ten years ago, almost no international acts ever included Halifax in their tours, but since I moved back to Nova Scotia I've been astonished by the acts that are beginning to come here. Anyway, we'll see how I do - or rather, how the Metro Centre's new online ticketing system copes with the rush.

Another Small Furry Visitor

Monday night, A. brought home this little hamster from the clinic. Someone brought her in that day, from a home where she was not being taken care of very well. A. agreed to re-home her, so in the interim, we're fostering her.

I have no intentions of keeping this little critter, cute as she is (she's too small to interact well with the buns and the guinea pig). But I'm not too worried. She's totally adorable, tiny, quite clean, and well-behaved, so I'm sure A. will have absolutely no difficulty finding her a good home in due course.

But in the meantime, she's pretty funny. She has one of those big clear plastic balls, which we pop her into in the evenings, so she can go rolling around the room and exploring. It's a hoot to watch.

Poor Joan

According to news reports today, the DNA in some supposed relics of Joan of Arc is to be tested by French scientists. The relics have been on display in a museum in Chinon. While there is no way to be certain if they are in fact those of Joan, the scientists hope to be able to determine their age, and whether they came from a young woman who fits Joan's historical profile.

Thinking back, I don't think I've seen the relics in question. When J. and I toured the Loire in 2002, we went to Chinon one evening for dinner - but the visit was marred when I was the cause of a small altercation between our hire car and an electric bicycle. No harm done, but I was in need of a nerve tonic afterwards, I can tell you.

Yummy Supper

Since it's Valentine's Day and all, A. decided to make something special for supper tonight. So he tried a new recipe from a new cookbook he got for Christmas. He made risotto with prosciutto and peas - his first time making risotto from scratch. And it was delicious!

Not that A. is normally a bad cook or anything. But this was especially good - and all the more so because it was his first time with a new recipe. Yum.

DFL Podcast

There's now a daily DFL podcast! In which Jonathan ("Because I haven't fully explored all the ways I can make a total ass of myself") reports on the day's last-place finishes, illuminates 'Great DFLs in History', and whinges about whatever else may take his fancy. Heh.

DFL is Back!

DFL, the brainchild of my friend Jonathan (McWetboy), is back up and running this weekend.

DFL is a blog (that began during the 2004 Athens games and now continues with Torino) which reports on and celebrates last-place finishes at the Olympics. It may sound like some kind of joke, but it most definitely is not. In Jonathan's own words:

...[W]hy do this, except to be a global prick?

Okay, that's part of it. But it's also to celebrate participation -- which gets too much short shrift at the Games, except with novelty acts like Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards and the Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Calgary Games -- instead of complete and utter triumph. Triumph is sexy, but participation is brave. And therein lies a tale.

I'm no athlete myself. In junior high, though -- before Osgood-Schlatter Disease put an end to my nascent track career -- I tried my hand at distance running. I entered my school's track meet and ran the 1,500 metres -- and trailed badly. In fact, I was lapped before the finish. One of my fellow students was laughing at me. But my gym teacher, hearing him, went up to him and said, "I don't see you running out there." And the kid, whose identity I never found out (I heard the story afterword from my teacher), began to cheer.

Remember that about the last-place finishers at these Olympics. They finished last, but at least they're there. And we're not.

It may seem an odd concept, but plenty of people appreciated it at the Athens games. At that time, internet interest meant that Jonathan's little blog project received considerable international media attention. So much so, that at its height in 2004, the DFL site received over 50,000 hits in a single day. Which, given that it was something he basically started for a lark, is absolutely amazing. So I'm watching the site more closely this time around. And of course, I think you should too. ;-)

Remembering Betty Friedan

An excellent, 25-minute segment this morning on CBC Radio 1's The Sunday Edition (a programme I have come to love, btw), concerning Betty Friedan, who died last week. The Guardian printed a slew of reiminiscences - some critical - from the likes of Germaine Greer, Naomi Wolf, Camille Paglia, and Sheila Rowbotham. But I don't think she got as much attention in the media as she deserved. Betty, perhaps more than anyone, would likely have appreciated the irony that her passing was overshadowed by the death of another woman, Coretta Scott King - whose fame derived from her husband.

I really need to re-read The Feminine Mystique.

Trying

Back to the Neptune this evening, for our first show of the new year. Tonight's play was Trying by Joanna McClelland Glass, and very good it was, too. I wasn't at all sure what it would be like - from the advance press, it seemed like it might be a bit fluffy and sentimental - but it wasn't at all. It had a serious and touching storyline, but with lots of laughs, and great characters. Given the rather heavy plays that the Neptune staged over the autumn, it was quite refreshing and very enjoyable.

Given that Valentine's Day is looming, we decided to make a night of it and went out for dinner beforehand. We chose Chateaubriand, a new French restaurant on Granville Street, and it was very good. I'm sure we'll go there again.

Freezing Here *chatter of teeth*

Woke up this morning and went downstairs, to find that the main floor of the house was freezing cold. The intrepid A. did some investigation and determined that the problem was likely a broken valve or a frozen pipe on the main floor (as we had heat upstairs and in the basement). After an hour or so of tinkering and checking out the insulation, the system kicked in. Not sure what the problem may have been, and if it will reoccur. Fingers crossed that it won't, as we are due for a snowstorm tomorrow.

It made us reconsider that estimate A. got last month for improving the insulation in the house. Not remotely cheap - but given the possibility of problems like these, and our continuing high fuel bills despite having installed a new furnace last year, we might want to look at the insulation thing. Between that, and the new roof we need to put on this summer, we're looking at some big house expenses in 2006. Whew...

MySpace

So this week, at the urging of C., I finally got with the MySpace thing (www.myspace.com) and set up a page over there. I can't imagine I'll spend all that much time there, though. It's good if there's a little community of people there that you know - in my case, some folks from the message board of a certain pop group that I frequent regularly - but other than that, it's quite an odd place.

MySpace seems mainly to be characterised by two things:

1. Music: a lot of bands now have MySpace pages, and the site is becoming very influential in promoting bands, apparently. In some cases, songs are made available for members there before being released more widely. So if you're into music, it's a good place to be.

2. Popularity and Cyber-Flirtation: the average MySpace user is in his/her teens or twenties, so there's quite a high-school vibe. There seems to be a lot of emphasis on how many 'Friends' you have, as well as on the photos you post, which you can submit for ranking. Unsurprisingly, the most popular people with the highest rankings seem to be those with the most provocative pics. Given the age range, most people are also single, so it can be a bit of a meat market, to say the least.

I have submitted no photos for ranking, and my profile indicates that I'm married and only looking for friends, but I've already been approached by a couple of dodgy men. 'Dave', for instance, sent me an 'add request' (whereby I can approve or deny his request to be my 'Friend'). But on looking at his profile, I discovered he was 43 years old and mainly interested in football and bikini babes. As he already had a slew of Playboy-type beauties as his 'Friends', I figured he had no need for the likes of me, and respectfully denied his add request.

Beyond all that stuff, MySpace is also a bit of a technical mess. In the evening, especially, the site can slow to a crawl, and many features don't always work, depending on how many people are logged in. The blog feature there is especially annoying, so I definitely have no plans to move this blog over there - in fact, I've put in a link so that anyone who stumbles across my profile there will be directed here if they wish.

Anyway. It's early days, so we'll see how things go. In the meantime, if you, Dear Reader, happen to be on MySpace, send me your profile address and I'll add you.

I'm a Blogger Eedjit!

*hangs head in shame*

Jonathan has just very politely brought it to my attention that I have not been moderating and publishing comments on this blog. Stymied, I went in and investigated, and found that I had switched on the 'comment moderation' option just before Christmas. So since then, whenever someone commented on one of my blog posts, the comment went into a holding area for my approval first. Except that I didn't realise I'd done this, and that I needed to go in and approve the comments before they would appear. Duh.

So I just went in and checked, and found a bunch of comments from my small group of regular readers. Apologies, all. Your comments have now been published. I did think it rather odd that no one had commented on any of my posts since round about Christmas...I thought that perhaps my posts had gotten very dull!

Serves me right for going and pushing buttons when I don't fully understand what they do. Needless to say, I've turned the moderation feature off now, so that comments will appear right away.

Brokeback Mountain

So we went to see the gay cowboy movie last night. It was pretty good. I read Annie Proulx's novella five or six years ago, and it didn't make much impression on me. As a result, this was one of the rare occasions where I've enjoyed the film more than the book. That may be because the film seemed more soft-focus and romantic than I remember the book being.

Quite a sad story. One of the things that struck me was how these two men had absolutely no language to speak about what was happening. So when things got difficult, they'd end up doing things like punching each other, instead of talking about how they felt. It's when I see things like that, that I reckon men may well be an alien species. ;-)

Anyway, I'm sure this film will drive all before it at the Oscars this year.

WTF?!? Part the Second

Wowee...it's been a while since I started this occasional series, hasn't it?

Popped round to the shops this morning. Just having a browse, when I discovered an altogether curious thing in the lingerie department. Seemingly, one can now purchase bras in half-sizes. Which, in a larger range, might perhaps make some sense. But the ones I looked at on the rack today were size 32½A. That's as in, half an A-cup. Why? How would this differ from the iconic 32AA of Judy Blume fame? Is it bigger? Smaller? Perhaps the most important question, however, is this: when one is so modestly endowed, can a precise fit be that important?

Looking at this particular garment earlier today, I recalled the memorable words of one of my aunts, first uttered many years ago: "That's not a bra - that's a baby chee-chee holder."

Blizzard

Welcome to February. After January's eerily warm temperatures, winter definitely came back last night. Started snowing and blowing around suppertime...continued all night...still howling out there now. Hard to tell until we can can get the doors open and go outside, but we seem to have had about 30 cm down. And with the wind, there's a lot of drifting.

Needless to say, there's no work for me today. All schools, universities and government offices are shut this morning, as well as shopping malls, etc. City buses have been suspended and police are advising everyone to stay off the roads until mid-afternoon (when the snow is supposed to stop falling). Even A. isn't venturing to work until later, and then only if the roads are passable (there are animals to look after, after all).

But first, he's got shovelling to do. So we're having a big cooked breakfast before either of us venture outside.