Parc National du Bic

This is one of the many pictures from our trip to Gaspe two summers ago. We spent a night in Le Bic. We chose a bed 'n breakfast out of a guide book while being warned it was a bad idea to chose one that way. We arrived and it was a very charming place. We settled down for the night but were awaken by trains passing through town at 3am, 4:30am, and 5:30am. The whole time laying on the horn to prevent any cars from thinking of gunning the grade crossing. Needless to say not a very restful night.

Conversation, not Monologue

I wasn't planning on posting today, but the comment from the godmother yesterday got me thinking. Instead of addressing it in the comments, I thought it would be better out here where more people will see it. I'm trying to limit my posts per week, but there seems like so many things to talk about.

The purpose behind blogging was the point mrne brought up that I would like to talk about. She suggested that blogging was similar to an internal monologue. It is true that I said once that blogging for my part has been a way to express things that have come up in my internal monologue. But my drive behind blogging has been different. I really see this whole thing as a big watercooler break or a discussion over beers.

My hope is that my posts serve two purposes. One is to share thoughts or experiences. My other hope is to generate conversations with others or sharing by others also. Quite similar to the comment strings seen at the cassandra pages, the blork blog, and ni vu ni connu. I'm not fishing for validating comments like on many photoblogs. My hope for many posts is that they generate interesting points and perspectives. It's funny because lately I have been better at finding topics for the Metroblog that interest people in sharing. Then again, I only post twice a month.

Yes, it is odd I am encouraging others to comment when I, myself, am on a bit of comment self-restraint. Again, I will elaborate probably next week.

So feel free to comment. I'm interested in hearing from you. Even the opinionated among you, which is, well, most other bloggers. I can take it as long as I have had a good nights rest, unlike last night. If you have any suggestions as to which kind of posts you like, let me know. I'll still post items that interest me, but I've got such a backlog that I can be choosy as to what gets posted. Hope to hear from you.

Modesty

In real life, I tend to be a fairly quiet guy. Ask my extended family, my in-laws, or the people I work with. I tend to be more talkative around close friends, immediate family, and those I know I have common interests. So why does much of my modesty and quietness almost disappear online? Where does this dichotomy come from?

On the real life side, I have always hated those who boast about things they do, how much they make, what status symbols they own. Or those who take things in their life and exaggerate them to impress. For me, even when I have things that I could boast about, I am very careful and reluctant in real life to reveal them. I feel some of this is out of respect. Not everyone has been as fortunate and trying to show or give the impression you have more is just not right. Maybe it's also because I would prefer others to like me for my character rather than what I've done, what I have, or who I know. I would hate for people to think I'm trying to impress them.

But I am finding my actions in the blogosphere out of character and a bit disturbing. I blather on about places I have been or things I have been fortunate to do. OK, it is true that for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to share with the world who I am. Nowadays I want to share what things I've experienced since that time. But why reveal online where ANYONE can read it? There is an oddness in that globality. Why do I have this urge? What does it say about my character? Am I a closet extrovert?

My best guess is this. Blogging is really about sharing. Sharing your thoughts, your feelings, your opinions, your life, and basically yourself. It is really quite liberating. But it allows you to share in a way that normal means of communication do not. You can share items that you would like to share, but may not normally come up in the flow of conversation. You can put stuff out there and if people are interested they'll keep reading. If not they move on to another blog , the news, or the Kilauea volcano. Also, by revealing yourself you allow anyone else on the web to connect with those aspects of you they otherwise would not. It's not something locked up in your head for someone to discover long after you're gone, if ever. From a personal standpoint, it is also sharing parts of me with new people I have met (either electronically or in real life) here in my new home. And even sharing aspects with old friends and family that had not had the opportunity to be shared. The sharing is quite similar to when you're first making friends with a person then sharing who you are to see what other common things there are between you. If a stranger connects with it and I make a new aquaintence or a friend all the better.

Introspection Times Three

This past week has seen three great introspective posts written by women here in Montreal.

The first by Me: The Sequel discusses words and their power (good or bad). It hit a nerve with me since I have been having a case of comment hangover lately. I may elaborate later.

The second by the Lightspeed Chick discusses the kid factor. I found the introspection interesting because of my feelings on the matter. Procreating should be a choice and not a requirement. Society seems to be moving toward less pressure on having kids. But is still out there. For the record, raising kids is very rewarding if it interests you. And it helps to have patience.

The third is by Zura and she discusses the joys and the curse of being thirtysomething. It's an interesting age. So many different people at so many different stages of their lives. Some want to stay twentysomething, some like to think they are fortysomething, and some just accept and are present in their thirtysomethingness.

Summer Urgency

I have mentioned before back when I had three readers (me, myself, and I) that there seems to be an urgency among the people here to drop everything during the summer and get outdoors. A relative that has a boat and him and his family disappear for the summer to spend every possible moment on the boat. Relatives kept saying we must go camping now or get out into the country for a day trip. The office is deserted at quitting time almost every night. Everything is now. And everyone was so depressed two summers ago when it rained all summer. I didn't quite get it.

Well.... after three winters I finally get it. A bit surprising since this has been the warmest winter ever. I have caught the bug. I'm itching to do things outdoors and exploit every minute of warm weather. It could be even doing work like turning over the compost heap or building a deck, but I want to get out! Bicycle rides, softball, and SAUSAGES ON THE BARBEQUE! Kicking a ball in the park, having meals outside, even cutting the lawn. I'm tired of watching Willy Wonka, Wallace and Grommit over and over. I WANT TO DO STUFF OUTSIDE!

Tokyoplastic Drum Machine

From the land of my forefathers comes the tokyoplastic drum machine. My sister passed along this link. If you have a few minutes to spare, this is a cool website to poke around. For the drum machine, click on the Japanese characters under 'enter tokyoplastic', then click around until you get to the venus flytrap, then click on the flytrap titled 'drum machine'. You'll need to click on character, squares, or the Japanese flag when it seems to stall to keep moving to the next stage. The whole thing reminds me of the taiko drummers that we saw every year as a kid at the Ginza Holiday Festival. The dark grey creature with the tenticles in the bottom left corner also has a cool percussion short. Hope you like it.

Boston Recommendations

In two weeks I will be in Boston for a hockey tournament. Does anyone have any recommendations of places to see, things to do, interesting bars? And if you have any recommendations considering that our group will be primarily francophone men in the 20's and 30's, some with their 'copines', that will also be appreciated. I doubt the Freedom Trail will appeal to them but I will try suggesting places like the aquarium or maybe a museum or two. Is there anything interesting around Harvard or MIT?

Towers of Chicago

These are two of my favorite early 20th century phallic symbols in Chicago. The white tower is Mather tower which recently had it's top totally rebuilt. It was actually the worlds tallest for a very short period. The dark green tower with gold highlights in the background is the Carbide & Carbon building. Legend has it that the design was inspired by a champagne bottle. It was also recently renovated to become the Hard Rock Hotel. The picture was taken from the IBM building by Mies van der Rohe.

Pop Culture Shock

There is an aspect that has been hard to get used to. Not being 'au current' with the local pop culture. To a degree I am a fish out of water. Here is an example. I had seen this commercial about erectile dysfunction and what must be a celebrity comes on and says some cheesy line that somehow connects hockey with winning the battle over erectile dysfunction. I see a couple other times and finally I see it with my wife in the room. So I ask her who that is and she informs me it's Guy Lafleur one of the biggest hockey players around.

It was just a weird feeling because the tables were turned. Back in the states I was the one always informing my wife who so and so was on TV. Oh, that's Jim McMahon the quarterback of the 1985 Superbowl Champion Chicago Bears.

Now we live in an area that reportedly has many locally known celebrities. My wife keeps pointing them out. Oh, that was the actor from such-and-such from when I was a kid. Or that woman is the daughter of that news anchor. So I worry that I could be giving the local Gary Sinise, John Malcovich, or Billy Corrigan the evil eye for cutting me off when I really should be gapping in surprise of seeing them and yielding way for their immense contribution to society.

I did actually see one local celeb at the supermarket. It was that guy who did the Bell ads before the beavers took over. You know, the guy who dressed up like women and blue collar workers. He pulled up in line behind us at the check out counter.

I am making an effort to get into the scene. We have watched every Star Academie since moving here in order to get familiar with the music scene. And when we remember and have the time we watch Tout Le Monde En Parle. They tend to have quite a few faces-in-the-crowd, but there are enough well-known faces. So I'm inching my way toward familiarity with the Quebec pop culture, but unless I completely wean myself of anglophone media, I think it will be a loooonnnnng time before I reach an level near to the knowledge I had back in the states.

Urbanite in Suburbia

I grew up always saying I would NEVER live in suburbia, yet here I am.



I grew up in the city. The house in the center of the picture. Zoom out from the link to get an idea of the breadth of the city around. Now I would love to exaggerate and say I lived in the 'hood, but really it was a semi-dense urban neighborhood called Northcenter. Similar to the Montreal neighborhoods of NDG (for ethnic make-up) and far east Plateau or far west Hochelaga-Maisoneuve (for density of buildings). There was talk of gangs occasionnally passing through the neighborhood along with scattered graffiti. My cars over the years had been broken into at least four times that I could remember. Almost everytime for a radio. But it was a relatively safe place with some of the same trappings as anywhere else. Before the car, I walked, ran (as in jogging), or took the bus to get places. We grew up playing amongst the factories behind our house or at the nearby parks. We'd climb up on the factory roofs or over their barbed wire fences to retrieve balls. Or we'd play whiffle ball at the street intersections with the manhole at each corner serving as a base.

When I returned as an adult, another aspect of the city became accessible. Bars, restaurants, street festivals. All within walking distance. One summer when I was painting our apartment, we listened to the dance music being blasted just down the street where they were setting up for the Pride Parade. Taking public transport to work. Not using the car for weeks on end. It was hard to imagine living life a different way.

So how exactly did I end up in suburbia (emphasis on the sub). Well, life changes and priorities change. Safe and an affordable place with a yard was the primary motive. Also one of the driving factors for the more to Montreal. Though, we are still only 15 minutes from the action. That is, when we have time for it.

What are my impressions or suburban life? Well, the big plus has been becoming a homeowner. I love doing work around a house and having space to breath has been great. We did home repair and maintenance when I was a kid and I enjoyed it so much it steered me to my profession. Now I don't get hung up on how good the grass looks, but I do really like an immaculately shoveled driveway. Weird, I know. Considering it's only a quarter of what we cleared at the house I grew up in, it's not too difficult to keep clear.

As far as the suburban environment, we are in an established suburb with mature trees so it has some similarities to what I grew up with. The people in our neighborhood have been very friendly, though there are some upturned noses at the grocery store. The noise level took a little getting used to. We had trouble going to sleep the first few nights because it was so quiet. I don't even remember any crickets. I grew up hearing ambulances, police sirens, and even the el train passing off in the distance. Not to mention the buzz of traffic or planes passing overhead. But here there is nothing.

To sum up, the transition has not been very difficult. Though if it was a newer suburb with no trees and farther from the center city, then there would be problems. I have no qualms with rural life. I could probably live there just fine as long as there was something interesting to do and/or see (not just endless cornfields). It just that weird transitional suburban area I don't care for of endless car-centric strip malls and cookie cutter homes.

Reality Television

After two posts a couple weeks ago about reality television, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my thoughts on, excuses and reasons for watching the genre. There was a time a few years back when about half the TV I watched outside of news and sports was reality TV. Oh wait, that's still the case except I don't watch as much TV.

It started the second season of Survivor when the Superbowl led into the season premier (Mark Burnett is no idiot). Before that I was like everyone else who said it sounds ridiculous. I am also opposed to jumping on bandwagons, so that was another reason to avoid it. So that first episode hooked us and we have watched every season since. Not that I look at it, my resolve doesn't sound very strong. Anyhow, we have watched every season of the Amazing Race since after most of the way through season two. We have seen the Bachelorette and the following season of the Bachelor in addition to half of the first Joe Millionaire and parts of the second. So what are my reasons/excuses for following these shows. For each show there are different explanations.

Our favorite is the Amazing Race. There are two main reasons. First is that they travel the world and you see the places from an angle other than those on travel programs. Secondly there is the competitive aspect. Teams to cheer for and those to cheer against. On this show it is much more each team competing independantly as opposed to in cooperation with the others like on Survivor. On this show it is about the race and I don't really care for the relationship side of it.

Survivor is also a competition, but it relies much more heavily on the personal relationships. How do people interact with one another? And the biggest question is that in the context of the game if you check your principles and morals at the door does it tarnish your character outside the game? How do the players adapt as the game evolves? Yes there are many seasons where only the leftover people are in the final episodes. And that is why it keeps getting harder and harder to come back.

As for the two dating game shows , Bachlor(ette) and Joe Millionaire, my interest in them started again as a competition, but evolved into another study on people's psyche. At first it was about which guy or girl the contestant in charge would choose and how that matched up to our own tastes. But as you watch these people fall head over heals for the bachelor(ette) it started to get sickening. Yes, we all fall in love, but wake up people this is television. You are living in expensive accomodations going on fancy dates with fairly limited contact with the bachelor(ette). Three or four pseudo-dates do not make a 'marry me' relationship. But at that point I'm watching trying to get into their heads to understand why they are all so suseptable to think this is 'The One'. 'The One' is another concept I really have a problem with. Then there is the issue of this being a degrading modern day harem. Love and competition should not be mixed. Yes, it happens in real life, but to do it for enterainment purposes is just leaves me with a dirty feeling. Lastly the other major problem I had with these shows was the editing. The teasers at every commercial break are ridiculous. There are two or three 'special' moments in each episode that are repeated ad nauseum before and after every commercial break and before and after every show. The whole thing is just so overwrought.

Yes, if you had to sum up this post, Amazing Race = Good, Survivor = OK, Bachelor (ette) = Bad, Joe Millionaire = Really bad. And Temptation Island was one of the most evil things on television.

What is your take on the genre?

Happy St. Pats

Today is the day that every good little red-haired kid of Asian ancestry living in Montreal pulls out their Aran sweater and green corduroys and wears them to work. Maybe I should go out and get some Kilkenny for later.

It's the day one of the cheesiest pick-up lines is grossly overused. "Do you have any Irish in ya? Would you like some?"

Oh yeah. And last weekend they dumped their special mixture of kryptonite and plutonium into the Chicago river to turn it flourescent green. You should see the night pictures.

This also means that 'Irish season' here in Montreal will be coming to a close soon. And Cheney still hasn't bagged one.

Picture borrowed from the St Pats Parade FAQ page.