When I thought of the above title, I wasn't completely sure I had a real word there. Perhaps on an occasion or two I have used the root word beget in every day conversation. I had most certainly never used the longer word begetting, as it is a very rare word. The term beget has but 2 definitions. The first and unbeknownst to me, the most common is "to father". Fair enough, there must be multiple hundred different words for that. The other definition is "to cause to exist" or "to produce". It is in this form that I use the word here.
I have really grown over the last couple of years to enjoy exercising, in all of its different forms. I won't lie, physically being stronger is solid motivation, but I do have a few more specific reasons why I enjoy being active, and why I believe I won't get bored with it. Something that I have said a few times recently is that "the more you exercise, the more energy you will have". I have said this to a few people not because it has a basis in science. it really is something that I am starting the buy in to. One thing that holds true for me is that a lazy, listless start to a day will often lead to a lazy day all the way through. On the other hand, a quick start to the day can lead to weird and wonderful energy levels later in the day. I believe it only happened once all last summer, but there was one day that is vivid in my memory. Sheila leaves for work at 0730 and it is rare for me to be vertical by then. Maybe Asher is laying beside me watch baby tv. Jasmine is often up as well, especially on school days, but I am usually one-eyed and miserable when Sheila exits the house. On one glorious day last summer I jumped out of bed, threw on shorts and a t-shirt, strapped on my ipod and stormed out the door. The time? Approximately 0700, did you really expect me to have all the details? The morning air was a little more crisp, and I think I suffered slightly on my speed due to being only half awake, but upon returning home and hacking up a morning lung, I felt very alive. I'd love to tell you that the rest of the day was full of exercise and lots of fun, but truthfully I don't remember. But, I remember that feeling I felt after the crack of dawn run, and I am looking forward to feeling it again. Weather permitting of course.
The above paragraph may not have provided the most powerful evidence to back up my lofty claim, but I do think the concept has some merit. I will say this, when I start the day well with some physical activity, I am then more excited about the rest of the day. After starting well, something in my head keeps reminding me about that, pushing me towards finishing the rest of the day well. A few weeks ago, on a Thursday, Asher and I spent time hanging out in the morning. We usually grab a drink, coffee for me and usually juice for him, and we head to the man cave. I sit down at the computer, sip my coffee and attempt to find something to read. This isn't a tough task, but after 30 minutes or so I have read the blog updates, checked ESPN, Facebook, the Prince George Citizen website, perhaps a poker site or two, looked for any news for my upcoming fantasy drafts and then, it's decision time.
On a lazy day I will probably still lift weights, but the pace will be sloth slow. One set, followed by a desperate attempt to find more reading material, or a half-hearted attempt to join Asher in whatever he's doing. If I am motivated and exercising at a decent pace, I will play with Asher in between with a similar energy level. On a good day, the weight routine is complete well before lunch time, and tired out from all his playing, Asher and I head upstairs to have lunch. On this glorious Thursday, Asher fell asleep after lunch and I had a little time to myself. I started an album on the computer, turned the elliptical to max resistance and went for 12 minutes. I get bored easily on these machines, so I crank up the resistance and get the same workout I would get in 20 minutes on an easier setting. Asher woke up, we picked up Jasmine and had a typical afternoon at the house. Some fighting about chores, resisting her homework, and some screening thrown in. I had hockey scheduled that night, and I was feeling good after my early exercise. Sheila was set to miss her water aerobics because of my hockey, then I suggested we all go swimming before hockey. Sheila loves doing thing as a family so off we went. Chasing after my little guy at the pool may be the best exercise I got all day. He is endlessly in motion at the pool. I snuck away and spent some time in the steam room and sauna, then it was time to go. I got dressed and said good night to the family and made the short drive to the hockey rink. Playing hockey with the elevated body temperature from the sauna and steam room was interesting. We were playing in the big barn that night too, the CN Center is notoriously the warmest rink in the city, as there seems to be an odd desire to keep the empty plastic seats at room temperature. I always sweat when I play, but this was amazing. After my first shift, my forehead was dripping. I had actually worked up a lather in the warm up. It was an awesome feeling. My energy definitely came down some towards the end of the game, but all in all, the day was a success. I get a kick out of trying to string together a day full of exercise like that, and will be trying my best to outdo that day.
The other thing that really motivates me when I exercise is the constant struggle to over come the desire to quit. Be it acute pain in a body part,or general fatigue, often people cut exercise short due to their inability to direct their attention away from the problem. If you don't enjoy exercise and are doing it for some other reason, you are likely to struggle to motivate yourself. When you do manage to get yourself to get active, you have only partly won the battle. It goes without saying that the longer duration of time the better when you are active. If you aren't motivated, you will be looking for any reason possible to cut your session short. This search for a reason to stop, goes hand in hand with the level of intensity the exercise is performed at. It is quite normal for someone who is looking for a reason to quit to also be paying little or no attention to what they are actually doing. This is not a recipe for high intensity exercise. One of the reasons I enjoy exercising outdoors is the distractions available. I have to balance focusing on my intensity level, with the need to distract myself from any pain or fatigue I may be feeling. Music and visual distractions are two keys to getting through the distance you want to complete. If I feeling truly sadistic I will actually focus my thoughts exclusively on the potential road block, my most common being shin splints, or knee pain, and force myself to get over it. Train the mind so that when your body is physically capable of more, your brain will already be ready to handle it. The way I see it, is that I will be able to gradually increase my capabilities by fighting through things that may have previously made me stop.
My whole family has become quite the active bunch. Jasmine has found a couple of sports that she really enjoys in soccer and basketball. She also swims regularly, often twice a week. Jasmine also has pretty healthy eating habits, eating large portions of lunch and dinner including vegetables that some kids detest. Asher is developing a love for all sports, probably due to his family's influence. He runs around the basement with a basketball because he watches Jasmine play with her team. He doesn't go a day without playing hockey because he sees it on t.v. constantly, and has come and watched dad play a few times. Asher also loves to swim, and as I mentioned earlier, is quite the handful when he goes. Sheila as I have mentioned here before has made significant changes to her diet, and is more energetic because of it. She also exercises a few times a week at the pool, or down in the dungeon at home.
As the weather warms, we will all likely get more active outdoors. Jasmine and I are both signed on for another season on youth soccer, player and coach respectively. I'm hoping to find time to play soccer myself this year, but my weekend work schedule will likely reduce my options. The recreation league plays on Monday nights so I can play there. Jasmine and I have also been discussing trying a few road running races this year. I've gone ahead and scheduled a few days off for races that I would like to run. The YMCA road race is in June, and it includes a shorter race for kids. It's going to be fun cheering her on. I'm also going to try the "Beat the Bugs" race later in June as it falls on a Saturday and I won't be working. The other key race is the Labour Day Classic, as it serves as the only race I have done before. I ran the 13 km course years ago, and I have been itching to try it again. They also hold a kids race that Jasmine tried the same year I ran. She has fond memories that we can hopefully add to. Two weeks later is the Terry Fox Run. Usually, I walk the course in support of Cancer, but I hope to run it this year. I wrote in this very space about last year's walk that saw my friends overcome physical challenges and walk much further than they are used to. I'm looking forward to getting myself ready for these races. Jasmine asked me recently "Dad, is there prizes or anything for these races?" I just laughed, "There is Jas, but Dad doesn't have a chance. I just want to do my best." Running these races has been a life's dedication for many of the people who go, my efforts to complete a few races shows me how difficult this lifestyle can be. Dedication, will power, and strength, both physical and mental are not things to be taken lightly.
Today, as I type I am well into my weightlifting, and Asher has
played soccer, tossed the football and shot a few hockey balls. Soon we will head upstairs for lunch, then Asher will lay down for his nap. I will hopefully keep my day going, Asher and I are going to walk to pick Jas up. I have hockey tonight and it's a matchup with the top team. Maybe I'll be dripping sweat and loving it tonight as well. It's
day one of a ten day break from work, and I'm quite happy about the way it has started.
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Monday, 11 March 2013
What's In a Name?
The power of speech is well established in modern society. Language can be used to manipulate situations, those that possess a larger vocabulary essentially have a larger arsenal to fire with so to speak. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about this idea, that words are weapons in a sense. Specifically, how we speak to one another carries a lot of weight in the world. To narrow it down even further, my thoughts have been about names, given names, nicknames, names that we call others both derisive and endearing. Why is it that names hold so much weight and power? When a name is hurled at you, either positive or negative, you are recieving a glimpse into the person's mind. Often, insults are played off by the delivering party with cursory comments such as "I didn't mean anything by it", but in reality, the words wouldn't be in your mind to begin with if there wasn't some intent behind them. It is quite startling how frequently the topic of names comes up in every day life, in such a wide variety of contexts.
My mom and my sister were up for an overnight visit last week, and while they were here the topic of names came up a few times. My sister's name is Paulette, which I think is a very nice name. It is one that most people will have heard of, it's easy enough to spell, but when you look it up in any database's you will realize how rarely it is actually used. My mom was telling us how she always gets a kick out of Paulette's reaction to meeting other people with her name. It is infrequent, but when she goes to the hospital in Quesnel she will see the nurse there named Paulette. As mom tells the story, the woman has been there since time began, and is in her seventies. Paulette first met the other Paulette when she was a child, now she is 31 (Not to worry my sister is happy to share her age with everyone). My sister loves this lady. It may have something to do with her being very friendly and helpful as she is a nurse and they have a knack for that kind of thing, but it mostly comes down to their shared name and the common bond it seems to create. My sister has also taken to lighting up when someone has the same name as my mom. It's interesting, because this facination with names is something that my sister and I share in common. I am always curious about names, where they came from, how they are spelled and the like.
We, being Asher, my mom, my sister and I all went to meet my brother and his girlfriend at Tim Horton's to visit. My brother and his girlfriend have a baby on the way in July and the discussion turned to baby names. Not surprisingly, baby's mom (not sure she wants her name out there so I'm going to play it safe), has had some names picked out for years as many females are apt to do. She announced that if it's a girl she wants the name to be Elizabeth. I could tell Ian didn't like the name, and I provided support by agreeing, it wasn't a name that I liked. I regretted this afterwards, as I really should play no part at all in the naming of your baby Ian. I hope the two of you choose a name for your baby that you both like after having a lot of discussions about it. My obsession with names aside, once the baby arrives, the special bond between parents and baby and the overwhelming love that you will have for baby takes precedence over the name you choose. Sheila and I both feel like "Asher" suits our little guy perfectly, but I have a feeling we would say that about any name we had gone with.
At Asher's favorite place these days, the Strong Start class at Malaspina, one of his little friends goes by the name of Princess. She is just shy of 2 years old, has blonde hair, with big blue eyes, the type that seem to follow you as she observes you. She is very cute, and the name Princess just seems perfect for her. It's a unique name, and due to my curious mind, I had been wondering for weeks about it. She comes to the program with her nanny, but I didn't want to offend by asking about the origins of the name. I was signing Asher in one morning and noticed that she had been signed in as "Aaralyn/Princess". So, as we helped the kids I brought up the name thing, and as it turns out, Princess became Princess by simply acting like a Princess. Her nanny had taken to calling her that because of her demeanor and it stuck. There is nothing wrong with her given name but Princess just suits her perfectly. Normally, I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to given names, but a little girl lucky enough to have a very nice given name and a perfectly suited nickname is a lucky girl indeed.
At work the other day over coffee myself and a co-worker were discussing what led us to working in the field that we do. As it turns out, we were both the recipients of bullying and intimidation in our younger days. My co-worker is more middle-aged then I, and it seems the treatment he recieved was much harsher. From what I can see, he overcame this and became a caring, well-rounded person. This had me wondering though, perhaps my obsession with names leads back to my time being bullied in high school. I've experienced the power of name-calling first hand. While my work can be dull at times, the position of support I can provide for the guys who work with is fulfilling.
High school really is the home base of the personal name calling type of insult. It has been years since I can recall being the target of a personal attack. At University I was taken aback initially by the mostly accepting culture where those from such a wide variety of backgrounds can co-exist peacefully. The default attitude went from prejudging those who were different to more of a curiousity. When I met someone from a different background I always wanted to know more about them. Be it another culture or socio-economic background or otherwise, I didn't have a predetermined outlook on what that person would be like. Often, I wonder if I am too curious, and too open with others. Maybe to the point of being annoying. In the end, I can't do a whole lot to change that. It's the way I am.
Names are a large part of life. My focus of today's writing was largely on names of people, but all things we come across in life have been named, and often these names that things or people have been given influence the way we look at them. Whether it be the name of a band, or a television show or movie, we are likely to draw conclusions about the content or style of something based on the name that they have. Self-given names are usually less telling, but if something or someone has had a name bestowed on them by others, say Princess for instance, you are likely to get more of an idea of that person's nature or that band's style.
What ultimately prompted me to write this content was a comment a friend gave me about my previous series of posts. Having my material called boring shouldn't shock me, as people do have varying tastes. Having my content called boring publicly was a bit more surprising. While I know the comment wasn't meant as a personal attack, I initially took it that way. My blog, being that the content comes from my mind, is an extension of me in a way. My blog being insulted, felt like an attack on my person. I know that I am sensitive to "put downs", but it was very reassuring that another friend then defended my content. It goes without saying that those that are bored by this blog need not read it, but things aren't always that simple. I want people to speak their mind just as I do, even though the results may not be pleasant or heartwarming. Ultimately I want to thank both guys for being honest and truthful, not to mention that the exchange spawned another post boring, intriguing or otherwise.
My mom and my sister were up for an overnight visit last week, and while they were here the topic of names came up a few times. My sister's name is Paulette, which I think is a very nice name. It is one that most people will have heard of, it's easy enough to spell, but when you look it up in any database's you will realize how rarely it is actually used. My mom was telling us how she always gets a kick out of Paulette's reaction to meeting other people with her name. It is infrequent, but when she goes to the hospital in Quesnel she will see the nurse there named Paulette. As mom tells the story, the woman has been there since time began, and is in her seventies. Paulette first met the other Paulette when she was a child, now she is 31 (Not to worry my sister is happy to share her age with everyone). My sister loves this lady. It may have something to do with her being very friendly and helpful as she is a nurse and they have a knack for that kind of thing, but it mostly comes down to their shared name and the common bond it seems to create. My sister has also taken to lighting up when someone has the same name as my mom. It's interesting, because this facination with names is something that my sister and I share in common. I am always curious about names, where they came from, how they are spelled and the like.
We, being Asher, my mom, my sister and I all went to meet my brother and his girlfriend at Tim Horton's to visit. My brother and his girlfriend have a baby on the way in July and the discussion turned to baby names. Not surprisingly, baby's mom (not sure she wants her name out there so I'm going to play it safe), has had some names picked out for years as many females are apt to do. She announced that if it's a girl she wants the name to be Elizabeth. I could tell Ian didn't like the name, and I provided support by agreeing, it wasn't a name that I liked. I regretted this afterwards, as I really should play no part at all in the naming of your baby Ian. I hope the two of you choose a name for your baby that you both like after having a lot of discussions about it. My obsession with names aside, once the baby arrives, the special bond between parents and baby and the overwhelming love that you will have for baby takes precedence over the name you choose. Sheila and I both feel like "Asher" suits our little guy perfectly, but I have a feeling we would say that about any name we had gone with.
At Asher's favorite place these days, the Strong Start class at Malaspina, one of his little friends goes by the name of Princess. She is just shy of 2 years old, has blonde hair, with big blue eyes, the type that seem to follow you as she observes you. She is very cute, and the name Princess just seems perfect for her. It's a unique name, and due to my curious mind, I had been wondering for weeks about it. She comes to the program with her nanny, but I didn't want to offend by asking about the origins of the name. I was signing Asher in one morning and noticed that she had been signed in as "Aaralyn/Princess". So, as we helped the kids I brought up the name thing, and as it turns out, Princess became Princess by simply acting like a Princess. Her nanny had taken to calling her that because of her demeanor and it stuck. There is nothing wrong with her given name but Princess just suits her perfectly. Normally, I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to given names, but a little girl lucky enough to have a very nice given name and a perfectly suited nickname is a lucky girl indeed.
At work the other day over coffee myself and a co-worker were discussing what led us to working in the field that we do. As it turns out, we were both the recipients of bullying and intimidation in our younger days. My co-worker is more middle-aged then I, and it seems the treatment he recieved was much harsher. From what I can see, he overcame this and became a caring, well-rounded person. This had me wondering though, perhaps my obsession with names leads back to my time being bullied in high school. I've experienced the power of name-calling first hand. While my work can be dull at times, the position of support I can provide for the guys who work with is fulfilling.
High school really is the home base of the personal name calling type of insult. It has been years since I can recall being the target of a personal attack. At University I was taken aback initially by the mostly accepting culture where those from such a wide variety of backgrounds can co-exist peacefully. The default attitude went from prejudging those who were different to more of a curiousity. When I met someone from a different background I always wanted to know more about them. Be it another culture or socio-economic background or otherwise, I didn't have a predetermined outlook on what that person would be like. Often, I wonder if I am too curious, and too open with others. Maybe to the point of being annoying. In the end, I can't do a whole lot to change that. It's the way I am.
Names are a large part of life. My focus of today's writing was largely on names of people, but all things we come across in life have been named, and often these names that things or people have been given influence the way we look at them. Whether it be the name of a band, or a television show or movie, we are likely to draw conclusions about the content or style of something based on the name that they have. Self-given names are usually less telling, but if something or someone has had a name bestowed on them by others, say Princess for instance, you are likely to get more of an idea of that person's nature or that band's style.
What ultimately prompted me to write this content was a comment a friend gave me about my previous series of posts. Having my material called boring shouldn't shock me, as people do have varying tastes. Having my content called boring publicly was a bit more surprising. While I know the comment wasn't meant as a personal attack, I initially took it that way. My blog, being that the content comes from my mind, is an extension of me in a way. My blog being insulted, felt like an attack on my person. I know that I am sensitive to "put downs", but it was very reassuring that another friend then defended my content. It goes without saying that those that are bored by this blog need not read it, but things aren't always that simple. I want people to speak their mind just as I do, even though the results may not be pleasant or heartwarming. Ultimately I want to thank both guys for being honest and truthful, not to mention that the exchange spawned another post boring, intriguing or otherwise.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
A Book Review: Sons and Lovers
My reading so far in 2013 has veered off down a lonely road towards challenging and thought provoking. The last book I completed was "Time Must Have a Stop" by Aldous Huxley. It was at times difficult to remain interested, but knowing the intellect of the author I felt compelled to continue reading so as not to miss out on something monumental. In actuality I can't say that the book was anything more then a solid read, but "Sons and Lovers" by D.H. Lawrence provided the next challenge and it was indeed that. Finding a place at number 9 on the Modern Library list of the 20th century's best novels, I had a pretty good idea that the novel would prove enjoyable. As I have now read a large handful of novels from the list, I have had success in that all the works on the list have been well-written and thought provoking. They have been from a variety of genres, written in an array of different styles and it feels like I am truly learning new things about the art of writing whilst consuming the reading material.
The novel "Sons and Lovers" explores in excruciating depth the dynamics of family relationships, and the idea that your upbringing can shape considerably your personality and your ability to develop relationships outside of the family. This novel is unique in that it doesn't follow one central character throughout the work. It opens with a focus on the mother Gertrude Coppard, and examines her marriage to the miner Morel. She is of the middle class, and marries down into depths of poverty that she didn't realize when she first fell for Morel. He soon shows himself to be a functioning alcoholic who abuses his young bride which leads to Gertrude turning her love and affection towards her children, specifically the eldest William. Their father's abusive behaviour towards their mother leads the children to resent him, and to strengthen their bond with their mother.
The novel moves to focus on William the oldest son as he gets older and begins to move on with his life. He moves to London and quickly begins moving up in social circles. He distances himself from the family, only coming home for occasional visits. He develops a relationship with a young lady, but it seems that the relationship is based solely on status, as his lady friend appears dim witted and superficial. The author works masterfully in the subtle way that he has the mother Gertrude quietly disapprove of her son's relationship, but she is resigned to having lost control emotionally. The girlfriend returns with William to visit the family a few times and she proves to be as materialistic as suspected. The William chapter closes with him returning for a visit not long before the planned wedding. He is sickly and it seems that his bride-to-be had hardly taken notice. He returns to London despite his ill health and is dead days later. This serves as a prelude to the heart of the novel, as the mother turns her focus to her youngest son Paul who shows a more dynamic depth of character then her middle son Arthur or her daughter Annie.
The main focus of the novel emerges, as Paul struggles through his teen years into adulthood. He has developed an extreme dependence on his mother that had been nurtured and shaped significantly by Gertrude herself. This is graphically illustrated in Paul's inability to develop his relationship with Miriam. He can not fathom loving another woman as deeply as his mother. His mother for her part disapproves of his relationship with Miriam which provides another wedge that eventually leads Paul and Miriam apart. He is overwhelmed by the depth of Miriam's feelings for him, as he can not devote himself fully to her when his mother truly has his heart. Paul moves on to a relationship with Clara, a married but separated woman who was a friend of Miriam. While he is now adult and his sexual relationship with Clara is more significant then he had with Miriam, it becomes apparent that he once again is incapable of giving his heart to another. Clara being an already married woman adds to the complications of the situation.
As the work moves towards a conclusion, Gertrude ages and her children all move on and out, except for Paul. He feels attached to her in a way that leads him to pledge to her his heart eternally. Quite dramatically, the bond between the two teeters on the edge of inappropriate before Paul realizes that his mother is aging rapidly. In one passage he questions the "fairness" of life, not wanting to accept that his mother will at some point be gone. As his mother falls ill with a tumor, Paul's mediocre relationship with Clara disintegrates. He develops a friendship with her estranged husband who had at one point engaged him in a fight. He realizes that because he never did grant his heart to Clara, he had not earned her as a wife. She tells him plainly that despite her husband Baxter's failings he had opened up to her, granted her access to him wholly, unlike Paul who was so guarded and distant. His mother's illness rapidly advancing towards death, Paul begins to realize that he should return Clara to her husband. He distances himself from everyone, Clara, Miriam, his family distant and immediate. Paul arranges to reunite Clara and Baxter, and as he bids them adieu at the train station on their way to Sheffield, he appears resigned to being alone. His mother dead, his sister returns to her husband and their life together. His father, so distant from Paul, goes to live with acquaintances and Paul takes up a living arrangement in Nottingham where he works. The author paints a desolate portrait, Paul wandering through the city alone with little to no human contact. Suicide is contemplated at this time, but no action is taken. One night after a few weeks he attends church where he sees Miriam. Walking to say hello after the service, they decide to go to dinner together. Returning to his apartment after, D.H. Lawrence begins to hint at the young lovers reuniting. At this point Paul extinguishes any possibility of that happen as he appears to resign himself to being alone in his misery. He seems to be punishing himself for his prior treatment of Miriam, knowing that he is not deserving of a wife so in love with him. Being unable to reciprocate as he never learned how to love, Paul sees Miriam out of his apartment as the novel closes.
I didn't realize while reading this book how much it made me think. I struggled at times to keep my interest, but eventually I read a significant portion of the 420 pages in a few days. The message becomes overwhelmingly vivid, and it really is an important one. An inability to love can be crippling.
The novel "Sons and Lovers" explores in excruciating depth the dynamics of family relationships, and the idea that your upbringing can shape considerably your personality and your ability to develop relationships outside of the family. This novel is unique in that it doesn't follow one central character throughout the work. It opens with a focus on the mother Gertrude Coppard, and examines her marriage to the miner Morel. She is of the middle class, and marries down into depths of poverty that she didn't realize when she first fell for Morel. He soon shows himself to be a functioning alcoholic who abuses his young bride which leads to Gertrude turning her love and affection towards her children, specifically the eldest William. Their father's abusive behaviour towards their mother leads the children to resent him, and to strengthen their bond with their mother.
The novel moves to focus on William the oldest son as he gets older and begins to move on with his life. He moves to London and quickly begins moving up in social circles. He distances himself from the family, only coming home for occasional visits. He develops a relationship with a young lady, but it seems that the relationship is based solely on status, as his lady friend appears dim witted and superficial. The author works masterfully in the subtle way that he has the mother Gertrude quietly disapprove of her son's relationship, but she is resigned to having lost control emotionally. The girlfriend returns with William to visit the family a few times and she proves to be as materialistic as suspected. The William chapter closes with him returning for a visit not long before the planned wedding. He is sickly and it seems that his bride-to-be had hardly taken notice. He returns to London despite his ill health and is dead days later. This serves as a prelude to the heart of the novel, as the mother turns her focus to her youngest son Paul who shows a more dynamic depth of character then her middle son Arthur or her daughter Annie.
The main focus of the novel emerges, as Paul struggles through his teen years into adulthood. He has developed an extreme dependence on his mother that had been nurtured and shaped significantly by Gertrude herself. This is graphically illustrated in Paul's inability to develop his relationship with Miriam. He can not fathom loving another woman as deeply as his mother. His mother for her part disapproves of his relationship with Miriam which provides another wedge that eventually leads Paul and Miriam apart. He is overwhelmed by the depth of Miriam's feelings for him, as he can not devote himself fully to her when his mother truly has his heart. Paul moves on to a relationship with Clara, a married but separated woman who was a friend of Miriam. While he is now adult and his sexual relationship with Clara is more significant then he had with Miriam, it becomes apparent that he once again is incapable of giving his heart to another. Clara being an already married woman adds to the complications of the situation.
As the work moves towards a conclusion, Gertrude ages and her children all move on and out, except for Paul. He feels attached to her in a way that leads him to pledge to her his heart eternally. Quite dramatically, the bond between the two teeters on the edge of inappropriate before Paul realizes that his mother is aging rapidly. In one passage he questions the "fairness" of life, not wanting to accept that his mother will at some point be gone. As his mother falls ill with a tumor, Paul's mediocre relationship with Clara disintegrates. He develops a friendship with her estranged husband who had at one point engaged him in a fight. He realizes that because he never did grant his heart to Clara, he had not earned her as a wife. She tells him plainly that despite her husband Baxter's failings he had opened up to her, granted her access to him wholly, unlike Paul who was so guarded and distant. His mother's illness rapidly advancing towards death, Paul begins to realize that he should return Clara to her husband. He distances himself from everyone, Clara, Miriam, his family distant and immediate. Paul arranges to reunite Clara and Baxter, and as he bids them adieu at the train station on their way to Sheffield, he appears resigned to being alone. His mother dead, his sister returns to her husband and their life together. His father, so distant from Paul, goes to live with acquaintances and Paul takes up a living arrangement in Nottingham where he works. The author paints a desolate portrait, Paul wandering through the city alone with little to no human contact. Suicide is contemplated at this time, but no action is taken. One night after a few weeks he attends church where he sees Miriam. Walking to say hello after the service, they decide to go to dinner together. Returning to his apartment after, D.H. Lawrence begins to hint at the young lovers reuniting. At this point Paul extinguishes any possibility of that happen as he appears to resign himself to being alone in his misery. He seems to be punishing himself for his prior treatment of Miriam, knowing that he is not deserving of a wife so in love with him. Being unable to reciprocate as he never learned how to love, Paul sees Miriam out of his apartment as the novel closes.
I didn't realize while reading this book how much it made me think. I struggled at times to keep my interest, but eventually I read a significant portion of the 420 pages in a few days. The message becomes overwhelmingly vivid, and it really is an important one. An inability to love can be crippling.
Monday, 4 March 2013
Politics in British Columbia: A Creatively Written Soap Opera
Christy Clark, oh how I love you. She currently presides over the B.C. Liberal Party and as such she is the Premier of the province. Effectively, she is the most powerful person in the province that I have lived in my entire life. As I near my 30th birthday this fall, I have spent all of my adult life living under the government of the B.C. Liberal Party. I have dutifully voted against their party in both 2005 and in 2009. In 2005 I cast a vote for Bob Simpson who at the time was representing the New Democratic Party (NDP), and he was successfully elected as a member of the Opposition. I have never voted either Provincially or Federally for party that was able to win and form Government. It looks as though that may change come this May as B.C. looks forward to the next election.
As I recall, while the election was approaching in the Spring of 2009, the NDP was full of optimism. The party was led by Carole James a charasmatic leader, who led the party from near wipe out in the election of 2001 back to relevance. James had ties to the local region, her husband is from Burns Lake, and is now the Chief of the Burns Lake Indian Band. As I fly off on this tangent, I'll say that James' fault was basically that she was too nice. She seemed to struggle when it came to taking the government to task. Inherently, this wasn't just perception, she is just too good of a person to attack in a way that Political leaders need to. She has been a foster parent for over 20 years, and spent time in her twenties working with mentally handicapped adults, both activities that garner her much respect from me. The optimism the party had leading into the 2009 election was based on hope more than substantial reasoning. As a result, the NDP made some gains, but they weren't significant and the election was once again lost. As it was the second losing election for James as leader, it wasn't surprising when key members of the caucus denounced her as leader, and asked for a leadership review. She subsequently resigned on December 6, 2010.
While I have been a follower of the political scene since I was teenager, and I obtained a BA of Political Science at UNBC, I have been regrettably inactive in the political scene. I had gone to a number of NDP events and such with my dad when I was younger, but once I moved from Quesnel to Prince George, it was rare for me to go out of my way to attend. The race to choose a new party leader in 2011 rekindled my interest. I paid my dues and became a card carrying member of the party, this enabled me to cast a vote in the leadership race. I attended, along with my dad and brother the debate that was held in Prince George. All 5 candidates were present, and a lively debate ensued. While less heated then debates between competing parties, I still learned plenty about the ideas that the candidates held. As a low-level cannabis activist, I had already determined that I would support Dana Larsen on the first ballot as he is THE activitist when it comes to cannabis law. Knowing that he would likely drop from the ballot my second choice was John Horgan. Ultimately, the party chose Adrian Dix, current MLA in Vancouver Kingsway, and former staffer for Premier Glen Clark in the 90s.
The NDP spent 2011 and 2012 quietly gaining popularity by having the governing Liberal Party make egregious errors that cause consternation amongst the voting public. As the calnder turned to 2013 and the election campaigned neared, I began to anticipate the NDP's approach to the election. Well, the Liberal's have hardly given them a chance to get started. I am happy that the NDP has chosen to stay away from attack ads, which are usually a staple of Opposition parties desperate to get ahold of power. Conversely, it is the governing Liberal Party that have spent heavily on attack ads, bringing up improprieties about Adrian Dix from 17 years ago. Yes, you read that right. All the while, numerous sitting MLAs have come out announcing the won't be running in the next election, an odd development that rarely occurs. The Liberals started throwing shots at the NDP questioning why they were not producing an election platform for their party to criticize. While we still haven't seen that platform, the Liberals have been busy deflecting and evading as they have faced numerous scandals in the past few weeks.
The budget was produced two weeks ago, and it was full of promises. Balanced budget of course, and the way I see it, this is just standard electioneering. Hardly something that the Liberals should be criticized for as the NDP were guilty of producing shady budgets when they governed as well. It's an election tool, plain and simple. What the Liberals didn't account for were the events of this past week. Last Monday, the latest opinion poll results were released. While there are 5 or 6 different firms that conduct opinion polls, the Angus Reid Group is the most consistent. They have conducted a poll nearly every month since the last election in 2009. The Liberal Party hasn't led in any of these polls since 2011, and even then it was by a few percentage points. After a couple months, the NDP retook the led and has held it ever since. The latest numbers released on February 25th saw the NDP at 47%, the Liberals at 31%, the Greens at 10% and the Conservatives at 9%. Certainly, with less then 3 months until the election, this had to cause concern amongst Liberal Party members.
The next day, two prominent business men, along with Conservative leader John Cummins came forward with accusations that minister Pat Bell, one of the MLAs for Prince George, had improperly promised them an inside track on a huge downtown construction project. Sure, they are likely bitter that Pat went back on his word and the bid process went ahead with 3 other bids as "finalists", but there is likely some merit to these accusations. One of the men had brokered a deal with the other to buy up a large parcel of downtown land in order to then sell it to the province or the University so that they could build the Wood Innovation Centre, a mega project that the Liberal Party has been touting for years. One of the businessmen had sunk some serious money into acquiring the land from the other. Pat Bell has denied all involvement, stating that he obviously wouldn't anything like he was being accused of, because of course it would be improper. The best part of the story, is that the businessmen are both long term supporters of the Liberals, and one has donated funds totalling more than $100,000 to their party. Now the party is willing to paint these men as liars and to throw them under the bus, while happily counting the money they had been given. For a better account on the accusations and the denials see here: story.
Fast forward two more days, yipee they made it one day without a new scandal, and the now infamous memo was brought up in the Legislature by the NDP. The memo, written by Christy Clark's Chief of Staff and personal friend Kim Haakstrand, was 17 pages long and distributed via personal email to 17 or so other important members of the party. It outlines a number of strategic ideas that were developed in order to woo the ethnic voters of the province to the Liberal Party. While this practice is not uncommon, it is rare to see it blatantly spelled out in such a manner. The most inappropriate thing was the plan to use tax payer funds to implement the plan. Well, I'll be! I thought the Pat Bell debacle was bad, then this one came along to take the cake. Of course, there is more. Christy refused to apologize initially, and still maintains that she knew absolutely nothing about the document. All this while a number of the recipients are close friends of hers, including the author who is described as one of her closest personal friends, and an employee of hers for over a decade. Many of the other recipients were close personal friends of hers. While denying, she is also forgetting that the Chief of her Staff is employeed to help her develop policy, usually under her direction. The next day during the sitting of the Legislature, we did recieve an apology. Not from Christy, as she was not even present, but from her right hand man Rich Coleman who read a statement on her behalf. She demanded an inquiry, ridiculous when you consider it, as she could just ask her best girlfriend what was going on (remember, she didn't know about it, tee hee hee). She has now let her friend Kim get thrown under the bus, all while the RCMP has decided to get involved. This story can be found here.
In the end, the Liberals called an emergency meeting, got together on a Sunday afternoon for a few hours and emerged a "united team". Buy that if you want, but the whole thing stinks and likely seals the fate of the Liberal Party in the coming election. I plan to volunteer in my local riding, doing some menial tasks as well as attending the local debates in there are any. Shirley Bond of the Liberals who currently serves my riding classicly refused to attend any debates in the last 2 election campaigns. Will she once again be unwilling to take part knowing she is behind in all polls this time around? We will have to see. Perhaps it is time I will be able to live while being governed by a party that I actually support. This is to say nothing of the Federal government, or the local municipal government who are raising fees and taxes so rapidly I can barely afford to keep my home. Alas, I digress.
As I recall, while the election was approaching in the Spring of 2009, the NDP was full of optimism. The party was led by Carole James a charasmatic leader, who led the party from near wipe out in the election of 2001 back to relevance. James had ties to the local region, her husband is from Burns Lake, and is now the Chief of the Burns Lake Indian Band. As I fly off on this tangent, I'll say that James' fault was basically that she was too nice. She seemed to struggle when it came to taking the government to task. Inherently, this wasn't just perception, she is just too good of a person to attack in a way that Political leaders need to. She has been a foster parent for over 20 years, and spent time in her twenties working with mentally handicapped adults, both activities that garner her much respect from me. The optimism the party had leading into the 2009 election was based on hope more than substantial reasoning. As a result, the NDP made some gains, but they weren't significant and the election was once again lost. As it was the second losing election for James as leader, it wasn't surprising when key members of the caucus denounced her as leader, and asked for a leadership review. She subsequently resigned on December 6, 2010.
While I have been a follower of the political scene since I was teenager, and I obtained a BA of Political Science at UNBC, I have been regrettably inactive in the political scene. I had gone to a number of NDP events and such with my dad when I was younger, but once I moved from Quesnel to Prince George, it was rare for me to go out of my way to attend. The race to choose a new party leader in 2011 rekindled my interest. I paid my dues and became a card carrying member of the party, this enabled me to cast a vote in the leadership race. I attended, along with my dad and brother the debate that was held in Prince George. All 5 candidates were present, and a lively debate ensued. While less heated then debates between competing parties, I still learned plenty about the ideas that the candidates held. As a low-level cannabis activist, I had already determined that I would support Dana Larsen on the first ballot as he is THE activitist when it comes to cannabis law. Knowing that he would likely drop from the ballot my second choice was John Horgan. Ultimately, the party chose Adrian Dix, current MLA in Vancouver Kingsway, and former staffer for Premier Glen Clark in the 90s.
The NDP spent 2011 and 2012 quietly gaining popularity by having the governing Liberal Party make egregious errors that cause consternation amongst the voting public. As the calnder turned to 2013 and the election campaigned neared, I began to anticipate the NDP's approach to the election. Well, the Liberal's have hardly given them a chance to get started. I am happy that the NDP has chosen to stay away from attack ads, which are usually a staple of Opposition parties desperate to get ahold of power. Conversely, it is the governing Liberal Party that have spent heavily on attack ads, bringing up improprieties about Adrian Dix from 17 years ago. Yes, you read that right. All the while, numerous sitting MLAs have come out announcing the won't be running in the next election, an odd development that rarely occurs. The Liberals started throwing shots at the NDP questioning why they were not producing an election platform for their party to criticize. While we still haven't seen that platform, the Liberals have been busy deflecting and evading as they have faced numerous scandals in the past few weeks.
The budget was produced two weeks ago, and it was full of promises. Balanced budget of course, and the way I see it, this is just standard electioneering. Hardly something that the Liberals should be criticized for as the NDP were guilty of producing shady budgets when they governed as well. It's an election tool, plain and simple. What the Liberals didn't account for were the events of this past week. Last Monday, the latest opinion poll results were released. While there are 5 or 6 different firms that conduct opinion polls, the Angus Reid Group is the most consistent. They have conducted a poll nearly every month since the last election in 2009. The Liberal Party hasn't led in any of these polls since 2011, and even then it was by a few percentage points. After a couple months, the NDP retook the led and has held it ever since. The latest numbers released on February 25th saw the NDP at 47%, the Liberals at 31%, the Greens at 10% and the Conservatives at 9%. Certainly, with less then 3 months until the election, this had to cause concern amongst Liberal Party members.
The next day, two prominent business men, along with Conservative leader John Cummins came forward with accusations that minister Pat Bell, one of the MLAs for Prince George, had improperly promised them an inside track on a huge downtown construction project. Sure, they are likely bitter that Pat went back on his word and the bid process went ahead with 3 other bids as "finalists", but there is likely some merit to these accusations. One of the men had brokered a deal with the other to buy up a large parcel of downtown land in order to then sell it to the province or the University so that they could build the Wood Innovation Centre, a mega project that the Liberal Party has been touting for years. One of the businessmen had sunk some serious money into acquiring the land from the other. Pat Bell has denied all involvement, stating that he obviously wouldn't anything like he was being accused of, because of course it would be improper. The best part of the story, is that the businessmen are both long term supporters of the Liberals, and one has donated funds totalling more than $100,000 to their party. Now the party is willing to paint these men as liars and to throw them under the bus, while happily counting the money they had been given. For a better account on the accusations and the denials see here: story.
Fast forward two more days, yipee they made it one day without a new scandal, and the now infamous memo was brought up in the Legislature by the NDP. The memo, written by Christy Clark's Chief of Staff and personal friend Kim Haakstrand, was 17 pages long and distributed via personal email to 17 or so other important members of the party. It outlines a number of strategic ideas that were developed in order to woo the ethnic voters of the province to the Liberal Party. While this practice is not uncommon, it is rare to see it blatantly spelled out in such a manner. The most inappropriate thing was the plan to use tax payer funds to implement the plan. Well, I'll be! I thought the Pat Bell debacle was bad, then this one came along to take the cake. Of course, there is more. Christy refused to apologize initially, and still maintains that she knew absolutely nothing about the document. All this while a number of the recipients are close friends of hers, including the author who is described as one of her closest personal friends, and an employee of hers for over a decade. Many of the other recipients were close personal friends of hers. While denying, she is also forgetting that the Chief of her Staff is employeed to help her develop policy, usually under her direction. The next day during the sitting of the Legislature, we did recieve an apology. Not from Christy, as she was not even present, but from her right hand man Rich Coleman who read a statement on her behalf. She demanded an inquiry, ridiculous when you consider it, as she could just ask her best girlfriend what was going on (remember, she didn't know about it, tee hee hee). She has now let her friend Kim get thrown under the bus, all while the RCMP has decided to get involved. This story can be found here.
In the end, the Liberals called an emergency meeting, got together on a Sunday afternoon for a few hours and emerged a "united team". Buy that if you want, but the whole thing stinks and likely seals the fate of the Liberal Party in the coming election. I plan to volunteer in my local riding, doing some menial tasks as well as attending the local debates in there are any. Shirley Bond of the Liberals who currently serves my riding classicly refused to attend any debates in the last 2 election campaigns. Will she once again be unwilling to take part knowing she is behind in all polls this time around? We will have to see. Perhaps it is time I will be able to live while being governed by a party that I actually support. This is to say nothing of the Federal government, or the local municipal government who are raising fees and taxes so rapidly I can barely afford to keep my home. Alas, I digress.
Weekend Update!
Good Morning to my family, and the other 3 readers of this blog! It's Monday, and for me, that means happy Friday! I always have my days off in the middle of the week, 3 of them in total. That's one too many by my count, but the upside is the extra time I get to spend with the kids. While I was working my regular shifts on the weekend I found some time to have fun as well.
My little man was sick with a cold last week, runny nose and some dreadful hacking coughs, but he was getting over it towards the end of the week. So on Friday morning we went to Strong Start after skipping it on Wednesday. He had fun as usual, quickly flitting from one activity to the next. We made playdough cookies shaped like stars, then moved on to haphazardly decorate a cardboard barn, then on to the cardboard blocks that Asher stacked high and then tore down with fits of laughter all the while. He had a funny little dispute while there. He has grown really fond of "money" lately, particularly shiny money. So, at one point he reached into his pocket and pulled out 2 pennies. As he was staring at them, a little girl of almost 2 grabbed at them. He didn't like that. Asher hollered "No! My money!" and slugged her. Ughhh. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and I shrugged my shoulders at her nanny while giving Asher trouble. Asher is quite possessive of "stuff" at home and at Strong Start, but at circle time he is so very cute. The teacher and the parents sing the little songs while the children do the dance moves to varying degrees of participation. As we have been quite a few times now, Asher is starting to learn the moves and it is very cool to see. I know I am getting old when I enjoy watching others having fun.
After working Friday night, I had a notion that I would get up early Saturday morning and go to the pool. Sheila laughed at me when I told her my plan as she knows that I am lucky to crawl out of bed on Saturday morning by 10. For the fall and winter months I had Jasmine's basketball to coach, and it was all I could to get up and shower in time to get there for 11. So, I told Sheila to wake me up when she gets up. So, that didn't happen, but I did crawl out of bed at 8, got my stuff together and went to the pool. 10 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes on the treadmill, and 5 minutes on the eliptical to cool down. I was happy with my effort, and rewarded myself with some lounging time in the hot tub, steamroom and sauna. I came home and Sheila's sister and brother-in-law had arrived. They were dropping off my neice Cienna for an overnight stay while they celebrated their wedding anniversary at a local hotel. We all had coffee and a nice visit, then I went outside for a snowball fight with Jasmine and Cienna. I even got the joy of discovering that my pocket was full of snow 20 minutes after I had come inside.
The weekend was rounded out with a trip to the Spruce Kings game Sunday afternoon. It was my second game of the weekend, as I had taken one of the guys to the game Friday night at work. Jasmine and Asher came with me to the game, and we met my friend Ed there. Fun was had despite the poor effort from the Spruce Kings. Jasmine declared that the Spruce Kings sucked again after being spanked 8-4. She has been a hex for the team this year as any time her and Asher go to a game, the team stinks out the joint. I finished off the weekend with some reading and exercise last night. Normally, I am very lazy on Sunday and Monday and end up squeezing my workouts in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. It will be nice to have them more spread out this week, giving my body time to recover.
I will be back later today or later this week with a political peice I am working on, until then enjoy your day!
My little man was sick with a cold last week, runny nose and some dreadful hacking coughs, but he was getting over it towards the end of the week. So on Friday morning we went to Strong Start after skipping it on Wednesday. He had fun as usual, quickly flitting from one activity to the next. We made playdough cookies shaped like stars, then moved on to haphazardly decorate a cardboard barn, then on to the cardboard blocks that Asher stacked high and then tore down with fits of laughter all the while. He had a funny little dispute while there. He has grown really fond of "money" lately, particularly shiny money. So, at one point he reached into his pocket and pulled out 2 pennies. As he was staring at them, a little girl of almost 2 grabbed at them. He didn't like that. Asher hollered "No! My money!" and slugged her. Ughhh. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and I shrugged my shoulders at her nanny while giving Asher trouble. Asher is quite possessive of "stuff" at home and at Strong Start, but at circle time he is so very cute. The teacher and the parents sing the little songs while the children do the dance moves to varying degrees of participation. As we have been quite a few times now, Asher is starting to learn the moves and it is very cool to see. I know I am getting old when I enjoy watching others having fun.
After working Friday night, I had a notion that I would get up early Saturday morning and go to the pool. Sheila laughed at me when I told her my plan as she knows that I am lucky to crawl out of bed on Saturday morning by 10. For the fall and winter months I had Jasmine's basketball to coach, and it was all I could to get up and shower in time to get there for 11. So, I told Sheila to wake me up when she gets up. So, that didn't happen, but I did crawl out of bed at 8, got my stuff together and went to the pool. 10 minutes on the bike, 20 minutes on the treadmill, and 5 minutes on the eliptical to cool down. I was happy with my effort, and rewarded myself with some lounging time in the hot tub, steamroom and sauna. I came home and Sheila's sister and brother-in-law had arrived. They were dropping off my neice Cienna for an overnight stay while they celebrated their wedding anniversary at a local hotel. We all had coffee and a nice visit, then I went outside for a snowball fight with Jasmine and Cienna. I even got the joy of discovering that my pocket was full of snow 20 minutes after I had come inside.
The weekend was rounded out with a trip to the Spruce Kings game Sunday afternoon. It was my second game of the weekend, as I had taken one of the guys to the game Friday night at work. Jasmine and Asher came with me to the game, and we met my friend Ed there. Fun was had despite the poor effort from the Spruce Kings. Jasmine declared that the Spruce Kings sucked again after being spanked 8-4. She has been a hex for the team this year as any time her and Asher go to a game, the team stinks out the joint. I finished off the weekend with some reading and exercise last night. Normally, I am very lazy on Sunday and Monday and end up squeezing my workouts in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. It will be nice to have them more spread out this week, giving my body time to recover.
I will be back later today or later this week with a political peice I am working on, until then enjoy your day!
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
New Music!!
Any one who knows me, or virtually knows me by following this little slice of internet knows that I am constantly acquiring and listening to new music. I get a real thrill when I find something new that has a fresh distinct sound. Genres be damned, I am all over the place with my tastes. I thought I would share with you some of my the most recent albums that I have been listening to and provide a short review.
Brazilian Girls- Brazilian Girls (2005) & Talk To La Bomb (2006)
I had already listened repeatedly to their most recent album New York City (2008) and had really enjoyed the laid back feel their brand of electronica had. After a few listens to their other material and I can confirm that they are just as good. I often listen to an album a few dozen times before I realize just how solid it is. If an album holds my attention through each song and has no lulls I subconsciously find myself overplaying it like a pre-teen girl with her Beiber albums.
Hot Chip- Coming On Strong (2004), The Warning (2006), Made In The Dark (2008), One Life Stand (2010)
After hearing their most recent album In Our Heads (2012) what seems like 100 times, I went ahead and grabbed everything else these guys have ever produced. While the current album is catchy beyond belief, I have not had enough listening time to the other albums to know if they hold the same powers. Doubtless, all 4 albums are worth your time as the guys are incredibly talented when it comes to the mellow style of electronica.
Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob (2013)
Yes! New Stuff! It has been 4 years since the last new album from the folk rock duo, and they didn't disappoint. Displaying a knack for writing catchy lyrics matched with unique melodies this album explores a more synthetic pop sound as opposed to the acoustic guitar heavy folk sounds they have always relied on. They mix their new sound with some classic stylings and a creative, fresh album is the pleasing result.
Goldfrapp - Head First (2010)
The fifth album from this British duo has a great upbeat sound that has garnered success in a variety of different countries. Made up of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory. they mix her strong, pure vocals with synthesizers to create an electronica sound that relies more heavily on vocals then most do. The synthesizers provide a showcasing background for her talents. I will likely check out more of their work in the future.
Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
A 25 year old rapper from Compton, Kendrick Lamar's album was one of the best reviewed albums of last year, finding its way onto all sorts of "best of" and "top album" lists. It received plenty of praise in mainstream music as well, something quite uncommon in the rap genre. I have admittedly only given it a couple listens, but I like what I hear so far.
Jack Parow - Jack Parow (2010)
This South African rapper features heavily on the Die Antwoord album that I have been really enjoying, so I thought I would check out his album as well. Incorporating both the Afrikaans and English languages, he spits hard in a "gangster" style, but he generally has an upbeat message despite his delivery. He prefers to rap in Afrikaans as he says it flows much smoother for him, his music is catchy despite the language barrier.
Down With Webster - Down With Webster (2007)
I have always had a passing interest in this group as they have an interesting pop style mixed with a clean sounding rap delivery. After hearing that they would be coming to town in support of Mariannas Trench, I decided to give their debut album a listen. It's anchored by its upbeat feel that kept me listening and enjoying. I will have to give their 2nd and 3rd albums a go before long.
Mariannas Trench - Ever After (2011)
Despite Mariannas Trench having a significant following in Canada amongst the pop music crowd, I had only heard them a handful of times. When I heard they were coming to Prince George to headline the CN Center, I was intrigued. When I found out how much Sheila though of them, and discovering that they were played on her favourite radio station constantly, I decided to grab the album. The big single "Ever After" is as advertised, a great catchy pop tune that you can listen to repeatedly. So, as I play the Down With Webster and Mariannas Trench albums in the house, I have been building interest in the concert. I gave Sheila her ticket last week for her birthday, but I hope to keep Jasmine in the dark a little longer. She hasn't been to a concert before, so I expect a wee bit of excitement.
The Steeldrivers - Hammer Down (2013)
As a nice change of pace I decided to give this Bluegrass group a go. True to the genre, this album is heavy on banjo riffs and gravelly sounding vocals. I am currently giving it a listen for the first time and it's lyrics are well-written and relaxing.
That's my time, give a few of these a listen, you won't be disappointed. Thanks to my fellow blogger Yakshi, who's blog can be found here who's album capsule features have given me new music to listen to, and also inspired me to post what I am listening to.
Brazilian Girls- Brazilian Girls (2005) & Talk To La Bomb (2006)
I had already listened repeatedly to their most recent album New York City (2008) and had really enjoyed the laid back feel their brand of electronica had. After a few listens to their other material and I can confirm that they are just as good. I often listen to an album a few dozen times before I realize just how solid it is. If an album holds my attention through each song and has no lulls I subconsciously find myself overplaying it like a pre-teen girl with her Beiber albums.
Hot Chip- Coming On Strong (2004), The Warning (2006), Made In The Dark (2008), One Life Stand (2010)
After hearing their most recent album In Our Heads (2012) what seems like 100 times, I went ahead and grabbed everything else these guys have ever produced. While the current album is catchy beyond belief, I have not had enough listening time to the other albums to know if they hold the same powers. Doubtless, all 4 albums are worth your time as the guys are incredibly talented when it comes to the mellow style of electronica.
Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob (2013)
Yes! New Stuff! It has been 4 years since the last new album from the folk rock duo, and they didn't disappoint. Displaying a knack for writing catchy lyrics matched with unique melodies this album explores a more synthetic pop sound as opposed to the acoustic guitar heavy folk sounds they have always relied on. They mix their new sound with some classic stylings and a creative, fresh album is the pleasing result.
Goldfrapp - Head First (2010)
The fifth album from this British duo has a great upbeat sound that has garnered success in a variety of different countries. Made up of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory. they mix her strong, pure vocals with synthesizers to create an electronica sound that relies more heavily on vocals then most do. The synthesizers provide a showcasing background for her talents. I will likely check out more of their work in the future.
Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012)
A 25 year old rapper from Compton, Kendrick Lamar's album was one of the best reviewed albums of last year, finding its way onto all sorts of "best of" and "top album" lists. It received plenty of praise in mainstream music as well, something quite uncommon in the rap genre. I have admittedly only given it a couple listens, but I like what I hear so far.
Jack Parow - Jack Parow (2010)
This South African rapper features heavily on the Die Antwoord album that I have been really enjoying, so I thought I would check out his album as well. Incorporating both the Afrikaans and English languages, he spits hard in a "gangster" style, but he generally has an upbeat message despite his delivery. He prefers to rap in Afrikaans as he says it flows much smoother for him, his music is catchy despite the language barrier.
Down With Webster - Down With Webster (2007)
I have always had a passing interest in this group as they have an interesting pop style mixed with a clean sounding rap delivery. After hearing that they would be coming to town in support of Mariannas Trench, I decided to give their debut album a listen. It's anchored by its upbeat feel that kept me listening and enjoying. I will have to give their 2nd and 3rd albums a go before long.
Mariannas Trench - Ever After (2011)
Despite Mariannas Trench having a significant following in Canada amongst the pop music crowd, I had only heard them a handful of times. When I heard they were coming to Prince George to headline the CN Center, I was intrigued. When I found out how much Sheila though of them, and discovering that they were played on her favourite radio station constantly, I decided to grab the album. The big single "Ever After" is as advertised, a great catchy pop tune that you can listen to repeatedly. So, as I play the Down With Webster and Mariannas Trench albums in the house, I have been building interest in the concert. I gave Sheila her ticket last week for her birthday, but I hope to keep Jasmine in the dark a little longer. She hasn't been to a concert before, so I expect a wee bit of excitement.
The Steeldrivers - Hammer Down (2013)
As a nice change of pace I decided to give this Bluegrass group a go. True to the genre, this album is heavy on banjo riffs and gravelly sounding vocals. I am currently giving it a listen for the first time and it's lyrics are well-written and relaxing.
That's my time, give a few of these a listen, you won't be disappointed. Thanks to my fellow blogger Yakshi, who's blog can be found here who's album capsule features have given me new music to listen to, and also inspired me to post what I am listening to.
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Soccer Season Coming Soon!
Okay, so the season for soccer here in the great white north hasn't quite arrived. If I needed a firm reminder, I got it this morning. I woke for work at my usual time of 5:55. Had my extremely quick shower, threw on my clothes and shoved my contacts into my eyes. I walked outside after throwing on my coat and finding my keys only to be greeted by about 6 inches of fresh wet snow. When I had arrived home the night before at 10:30 it was a balmy 3 degrees outside and snow was not on my mind in the least. Alas, it's all part of living in Prince George where we seem to receive multiple false Spring weather systems. A week ago the snow was melting rapidly, I had chipped most of the ice off of the driveway, and dozens of joggers were out roaming the city street. Fast forward to today, and we now have nearly a foot of fresh snow on the ground between last night's dump and one we received the other day. The weather is still mild as it hasn't fallen more then a few degrees below zero, but for those like me who aren't really winter enthusiasts it can be frustrating.
I have soccer on my mind because I made a call yesterday to Steve who I co-coached with last year. His daughter was a first time player last year, but by all indications she is eager and ready to play again this year. A wise choice as she really is a natural. Steve and his wife have a brand new baby at home but he is ready to help guide a team once again. Our girls will be in the same division as last year, they will be in the older set now as it is a combined under 9 and 10 group. I had a lot of fun last year coaching as there were numerous positives about the whole experience. It was enjoyable to see how receptive to advice most of the girls were, and how appreciative they were to our advice. They really had a lot of fun too, as we the coaches were often the butt of harmless jokes. The effort level was great, which is a huge indicator at the age level of whether or not the kids are enjoying themselves. All in all, I am looking forward to another great season.
Another reason why the thought of soccer season has me excited is the thought of returning to the playing field myself. My work schedule over the past 4 years has provided a significant hinderance to my involvement in the city league. Last year, the recreational league played Monday nights, the same night that Jasmine's team played and I had to bow out of playing altogether. This year, while I still have to work the weekends which makes it nearly impossible to commit to a team in the Open League, Jasmine's games have been moved to Tuesday's it appears, which means my Monday nights are free once again. While the level of soccer is mediocre, I am looking forward to kicking the ball around in real games once again. I am even considering a return to being a referee, something that I really enjoyed as a teenager. It may be too much, as I will already be at the field to play and coach 3 times a week but I'm thinking about it. The other challenge is that I would likely be treated as a beginner, meaning I would have to take the 3 day course and pay $150 to become a referee. I'm not sure I can or want to put myself through the course for something I'm thinking about on a whim. I have another month or so to decide.
I have managed to keep relatively active over the winter months what with my hockey games and lifting weights in the basement. The warm weather and longer days has me brainstorming different ways of being active and looking forward to getting out and exercising under the open skies once again. In my last post I mentioned my desire to set some lofty running goals for the year, and here in this post I am commiting to playing soccer once again. What next? Will I be looking to join the football league? Take up kayaking? Give ultimate frisbee a try? Actually, I am considering that last one. It's a great work out and it's inexpensive to take up. Hurry up and get here summer!
I have soccer on my mind because I made a call yesterday to Steve who I co-coached with last year. His daughter was a first time player last year, but by all indications she is eager and ready to play again this year. A wise choice as she really is a natural. Steve and his wife have a brand new baby at home but he is ready to help guide a team once again. Our girls will be in the same division as last year, they will be in the older set now as it is a combined under 9 and 10 group. I had a lot of fun last year coaching as there were numerous positives about the whole experience. It was enjoyable to see how receptive to advice most of the girls were, and how appreciative they were to our advice. They really had a lot of fun too, as we the coaches were often the butt of harmless jokes. The effort level was great, which is a huge indicator at the age level of whether or not the kids are enjoying themselves. All in all, I am looking forward to another great season.
Another reason why the thought of soccer season has me excited is the thought of returning to the playing field myself. My work schedule over the past 4 years has provided a significant hinderance to my involvement in the city league. Last year, the recreational league played Monday nights, the same night that Jasmine's team played and I had to bow out of playing altogether. This year, while I still have to work the weekends which makes it nearly impossible to commit to a team in the Open League, Jasmine's games have been moved to Tuesday's it appears, which means my Monday nights are free once again. While the level of soccer is mediocre, I am looking forward to kicking the ball around in real games once again. I am even considering a return to being a referee, something that I really enjoyed as a teenager. It may be too much, as I will already be at the field to play and coach 3 times a week but I'm thinking about it. The other challenge is that I would likely be treated as a beginner, meaning I would have to take the 3 day course and pay $150 to become a referee. I'm not sure I can or want to put myself through the course for something I'm thinking about on a whim. I have another month or so to decide.
I have managed to keep relatively active over the winter months what with my hockey games and lifting weights in the basement. The warm weather and longer days has me brainstorming different ways of being active and looking forward to getting out and exercising under the open skies once again. In my last post I mentioned my desire to set some lofty running goals for the year, and here in this post I am commiting to playing soccer once again. What next? Will I be looking to join the football league? Take up kayaking? Give ultimate frisbee a try? Actually, I am considering that last one. It's a great work out and it's inexpensive to take up. Hurry up and get here summer!
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