On the back burner

There's nothing more irritating than a pompous government.

Right now our version of George W. Bush is in power and on track to win a majority government. "Prorogue" a term I've never heard a government use before, is the action that our Prime Minister is taking by shutting down Parliament until March 3rd. Governor General Michaelle Jean (why do we pay her?) granted his request, and many Conservative backers are giving their full support.

With a government currently on a self-medicated paid three month holiday, many Canadians are simmering in anger as we helplessly watch a horrifyingly popular Prime Minister steam roll over the opposition. Facebook sites like "Canadians United Against Stephen Harper" have started, in stark contrast to Harper's own facebook page where you can only post positive feedback. Unwanted criticism will leave you banned from posting, unsurprising since he refused to attend the Beijing Olympics and now has to be relegated to kissing the dragon's feet. Why would he listen to the "little people"?

As a voter, I've always been a swing vote, having no blind loyalty for any party and preferring to vote for a particular leader based on his/her merits, but this is too much. "Get Back to Work" rallies have spawned in more than 30 cities along with what could be the most effective Facebook page "Anti-Harper Vote Swap Canada" which promotes voters to "swap" their loyalties to the side most likely to beat the opposition. Only thing to do? Vote. The sad truth is that if the government decided to suspend the Canadian hockey team THEN there would be an outraged outcry from all corners.

Ring of fire

For the past few years, insurmountable circumstances have devastated some of the most poorest countries. Foreign aid cannot come quick enough as the injured population struggles to survive with limited supplies and resources. The magnitude of the recent earthquake in Haiti has caught many by surprise, since the fault line of the Caribbean and North American plates (Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault) is not as well publicized as the seismic area of the Pacific Rim.

According to Jian Lin a WHOI senior scientist, it was three factors that magnified the tragic result.

1. It was centered just ten miles southwest of the capital city, Port au Prince.

2. The quake was shallow, only ten or fifteen kilometers below the land's surface.

3. Many of the homes and buildings were not designed to withstand such force.

Earthquakes, unlike many of the other natural disasters are still unpredictable and preparation or evacuation beforehand is not an option. To make matter worse, tremors are only the tip of the iceberg, it's the landslides, tsunamis, falling debris, diseases from contamination, and fires that follow the initial upheaval that you need to worry about. And yet having lived in a few of the known hot spots, I found many locals to be rather ho-hum about the possibility, especially if they have never experienced a tremor in their life time.

Vancouver, one of the few Canadian cities sitting on the Cascadia Subduction Zone on the "Ring of Fire", has been criticized for their poor prevention planning and that is unlikely to change in the near future. With the exception of the temporary cash flow injected into the city for the upcoming Olympics, the city is more concerned with the real estate market than anything else. Condos crop up in the city with ferocious speed, quickly built to meet the buyers' demand for a stake in one of the "most beautiful cities in the world". One wonders, how well are those buildings made in such a hurry?

As the aftershocks subside, the darkest side of our survival instinct will float to the surface as it always does (and crazy... Pat Robertson), but hopefully the brightest side of our humanity will compel us to help others in need.

In the last decade alone, the world has experienced unprecedented catastrophic disasters...

Sumatra, Indonesia earthquake 7.9 June 4, 2000

Baku, earthquake 7.0 November 25, 2000

Denali, Alaska earthquake 7.9 November 3, 2002

Indian Ocean earthquake 9.1-9.3 December 26, 2004

Java, Indonesia 7.7 July 17, 2006

Sichuan, China 7.9 May 12, 2008

Vanuatu Island of Santo 7.7 -7.8 October 7, 2009

Port-au-Prince, Haiti 7.0 January 12, 2010

Would like to donate? Here's a link of approved charities by CBC

Ways to help in Canada

Classics remade

Ah, there's nothing sweeter than a well told story. I recently finished Fifth Business, a book that's been on my "to read" list for quite some time. It's a bit of a departure from my normal reading fare but it wasn't disappointing. I usually cringe when a person shares their thoughtful advice to "just watch the movie and save time".

I shiver at the thought of students relying on cinema rather than great writing, but the trend is only gaining speed. With Twitter, texting and email, the English language has been relegated to kung-pow chicken. There aren't many films out there that have adapted great modern classics well, maybe only a handful in the century of cinema (Sense and Sensibility, High Fidelity...). Now the public must endure the horrific spew of video game concepts churned into action-porn puff pieces aimed at the twelve year old mind set (Prince of Persia???!).

Thankfully, one particular book slated on director Ridley Scott's "films to make list" is Aldous Huxley's powerful classic A BRAVE NEW WORLD, one of my all time favourites. I'm crossing my fingers that everything comes together for this film and that he truly does the writing justice, because his long overdue golden Oscar would be a nice paper weight for his office decor.

Who will be John Cooper? It better not be Russell Crowe or Leonardo Dicaprio... hopefully a lesser known actor.

Upcoming classics to hit the big screen

Fahrenheit 451

Another fantastic novel that is on the cooker pot set for 2012. Early rumours stated that Tom Hanks would take center stage as Guy Montag.

Don Quixote

On many reading lists this ranks number 1 as the all time book you need to read before you die. It's certainly a HEAVY one to crack down, and obviously a tale that Terry Gilliam is aching to finally finish (rumour has it he is still determined to film the novel).

Want to see some true agony, flashes of wrath from God? Try Lost in La Mancha, a documentary of Gilliam's painful trials of a dream lost.

Jane Eyre

Nothing beats a bit of Victorian sexual repression. Charlotte's Bronte's brooding Mr. Rochester manipulates the mousy heroine governess Jane.

Finite luck

How often do you enter contests for a prize?

I read that Samuel L. Jackson complained he never won a contest draw, and in contrast Scarlett Johansson is so blessed with lady luck she drew her own name in a draw that she was promoting (she was nice enough to redraw again). In some extremes, a Japanese game show had a man who could only consume and eat what he won from contests (he nearly starved to death but luckily won a bag of rice).

With the dreary gloom of the economy high on our heads, articles and ads promoting how to increase your likelihood to win freebies have been as popular as ever. I have won... maybe twice in my lifetime and prizes of paltry value. Nonetheless I was happy as could be, even if it wasn't something I really wanted (which I gave away). The sheer excitement of winning was such a splendid adrenaline rush that I still do occasionally enter draws in the hopes that I will win something for doing absolutely nothing.

There are those that are born with the Midas touch, like Mrs. Reynolds they have the astounding habit of stumbling into good fortune wherever they turn.

It always irks me to hear of a wealthy entrant winning a car, trip or even a house when they don't need it, but it's far worse when I discover the person never put the cash to good use. I was aghast when I read that there are many lotto winners who are now living near the poverty line. Where in the heck did all that green go? Article below...

8 lottery winners who lost their millions

From what many of the lucky winners have said, winning brands you as the ultimate mark for hucksters, con artists and long lost relatives you never knew you had. Fortunately Australia has learned the harsh lesson, and since the 1960 kidnapping of Graeme Thorne, winners remain anonymous. In Canada we are not slapped with the gruesome 50% tax afterwards that some winners try to evade (now that IS foolish), then again our prizes are significantly smaller.

As Vegas, Dubai, and Monaco suffer from their decadence you can be sure of one thing, it's human nature to always wish for the genie in the lamp because the mirage of greener pastures will always remain.

Vampire bites

With the current obsession of the teenage phenomenom series Twilight, it comes as no surprise that Hollywood is hunting for the next sensation. While Hollywood transitions into the world of angels, some filmmakers are continuing to push the vampire genre into new heights.

I recently saw the unintentionally funny "Daybreakers". A film that sadly fell apart despite the solid cast and expensive production value. I wasn't too sure if it was the cornball dialogue, the unfortunate stigma of the name "Edward" as a vampire, or the disjointed set pieces that never quite gelled. Perhaps it needed another script edit, or a lighter hand with the musical score; what I know for certain is that the teenagers' laughter surrounding me rarely abated.

A far cry from the matrix style approach of Daybreakers, Park Chan-wook's (Oldboy) film release of "Thirst" is a gruesome twisted dark comedy of a priest who becomes a vampire. The winner of the Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the story is loosely based on the novel Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola. Like many of his films it's not for the faint hearted, plunging the viewer into the icy waters of the undead... but it's certainly worth the risk.

A few notable blood thirsty films in no particular order...

1. Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992)

A delectable film by Francis Ford Coppola, with stunningly beautiful costumes designed by Eiko Ishioka... it almost feels like you're watching an old Italian Opera.

Another blog on the legend of the true Female Dracula in history, Erzebet Bathory here

2. Interview with a Vampire (1994)

Whether you like Tom Cruise or not, Brad Pitt makes his mark with his brooding portrayal of Louis De Pointe Du Lac's journey into the immoral and immortal world of the undead.

3. Nosferatu (1922)

The ultimate classic by F.W. Murnau, featuring Count Orlok in a haunting interpretation of Bram Stroker's novel.

4. Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)

The super slick samurai style anime of a mysterious female vampire hunter set in 1966 is short, sweet, and satisfying. Directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo.

5. Cronos (1993)

A promising beginning by the now acclaimed Guillermo del Toro, this film centers around the struggle to possess the "cronos" device invented by an alchemist in 1535 that promises eternal life.

6. The Lost Boys (1987)

Young Kiefer Sutherland stars in a contemporary (well in the 80s) tale of a brother who hires two young vampire hunters to save his brother.

7. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Robert Rodriguez at his best with a punchy action adventure of thieves who must survive the night in a vampire infested strip joint. (Featuring a younger George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Salma Hayek, and Juliette Lewis).

8. Blade (1998)

Wesley Snipes' hit that spawned two more spin offs of a half-vampire superhero devoted to protecting humanity.

9. 30 Days of Night

Sort of reminds me of Pitch Black. Based off of the three issue comic book by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith it takes place in the perfect horror setting, a fictional town called Barrow, Alaska where the sun rarely shines.

10. Let the Right One In (2008)

A Swedish film that quietly tells the tale of a young boy who befriends a vampire.