It was nine years ago today that Alexis was born and I became an auntie for the first time. Over the years I’ve been blessed several times over with the joys of having the most caring and thoughtful niece and nephews anyone could dream of calling their own.
Things have changed a lot in nine years, in both our lives. I remember one of the first times I went to my sister’s house after Lexi was born and it took us about 45 minutes to prepare the stroller and diaper bag… for our trip to the corner store about 200 feet away. Since that time I think I’ve seen my sister get socks, shoes, school bags, and five kids out the door in 35 seconds flat, no lie.
Alexis is such a special girl who can make you laugh and smile while always impressing you with her sense of humour and ability to learn. Before she turned 3 she could tell us all that “Paul Martin in Ottawa” was the Prime Minister of Canada and she spoke two languages before even starting pre-school. I’m constantly amazed at how smart she is, how wicked good she is at skiing, and at how quick her wit is to boot. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Thanks to the people at FilmsWeLike I was able to screen Examined Life, a documentary film by Astra Taylor that walks and talks with philosophers in various cities. Discussions range from meaning in life to Truth (with a capital “T”), romanticism, ecology, gender, capabilities, and ideology.
“Examined Life pulls philosophy out of academic journals and classrooms, and puts it back on the streets.” [NFB]
The wide cast of philosophers range from Michael Hardt talking about ‘revolution’ while rowing a boat in Central Park, to Cornel West quoting Donne and Yeats in the back of a moving car, while Peter Singer discusses ethics on 5th Avenue in New York.
Slavoj Zizek walks through a waste treatment plant in New York while explaining ecology as ideology, and Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses what it is to be truly cosmopolitan. We hear from Avital Ronell, Martha Nussbaum, and in San Francisco – Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor as well.
In the Director’s Q&A, Taylor notes: “Many would feel that the world is facing a multitude of unprecedented problems, from global arming to growing economic inequality. In a way, this is part of why I wanted to make Examined Life right now — I feel that the myriad of problems facing us demand more thinking than ever, not less.
That said, most people wouldn’t assume philosophy would have anything useful to say on these issues. Often when you mention “philosophy” people’s eyes kind of glaze over. The world conjures images of stodgy old white men pontificating on abstract matters completely irrelevant to those of us who in the “real world”. Or maybe folks assume that philosophy doesn’t relate to their lives, or that people who are interest in the subject or unforgivably ponderous or pretentious.”
The film is certainly thought-provoking and with so many faces and angles presented in each discussion, your eyes certainly won’t glaze over — especially when the passionate Cornel West talks about music, “I’m a blues man… …the blues is personal catastrophe lyrically expressed.”
Examined Life has been playing since Friday at Pacific Cinematheque downtown and tonight is the last showing before it heads to Victoria for screenings beginning April 1st at Cinecenta. Tickets are $9.50 (cash only) and the show starts at 7:30pm. You can also follow Pacific Cinematheque on Twitter for other show updates.
I’m all for events that are a) for the public b) free so I thought I would quickly highlight this Big Rock Brewing meet and greet session that will take place at the BC Liquor Store at 39th & Cambie (5555 Cambie Street).
From 3:00pm to 7:00pm on Thursday March 26th Ryan McMahon will be there to sign autographs along with Exit this Side, Portal, and Souls in Rhythm. These artists are also featured on Big Rock Brewing’s “Untapped Vol. 2” album.
Big Rock’s three signature brews, Grasshöpper, Traditional Ale and Rock Creek Cider, will be available for sampling along with food pairings throughout the event.
Ryan McMahon will also be playing two shows as a part of Juno Fest this weekend: Thursday March 26th at the Arts Club Backstage Lounge and Saturday March 28th at Doolins (with Matthew Barber & Lindsay Ell).
This Thursday, March 26th, The Trews will make an appearance at Terry Fox Secondary as the school is awarded a 2009 Band Aid grant from MusiCounts.
MusiCounts‘ mission is to ensure that children in Canada have access to a comprehensive music program through their school. MusiCounts includes Band Aid musical instrument grants, the MusiCounts Teacher of the Year Award, Scholarships and other music education initiatives.
MusiCounts began in 1989 in order to provide annual scholarships to exceptional graduates enrolled in post-secondary music industry arts programs across Canada. In 1997, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Science (CARAS) created the Band Aid program, which awards a grant to secondary schools each year.
For 2008-2009 honorees in our province include Carihi Secondary School in Campbell River, KB Woodward in Surrey, Sir Matthew Begbie Elementary in Vancouver, and Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam.
Shout out to KB Woodward — my best friend growing up went there and we used to rollerblade in its courtyard on sunny Saturday afternoons.
Chosen schools receive $10,000 in musical instrument grants so that they can grow and sustain their music programs.
The Trews, who are nominated for Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year, will speak at Terry Fox Secondary this Thursday morning about their personal experiences with music programs and will follow up with a private performance for the school’s 1,700 students. The school’s jazz and rock bands will also perform.
Last night on the Vancouver Sun’s site I came across a list of “British Columbia’s Best: A quest to determine the most influential person in BC’s history.” In November 2008 a poll including hundreds of names was setup and the results were then revealed in early January 2009 (while we were away in Iowa).
According to VancouverSun.com voters, the most influential British Columbian is musician, Joey Keithley, lead singer of the punk rock band DOA. And while that is interesting, does it truly represent the province’s most influential citizen, greater than, say, Terry Fox or Emily Carr or W.A.C. Bennett, to name just a few?
The results aroused our curiosity, and we found that Sudden Death Record’s web site included a link to our voting form and urged Keithley fans to “vote once, vote often.” How often? Well, out of 2,912 votes cast for Keithley, some 1,268 votes were from IP addresses that registered multiple votes. In fact, one single IP address alone recorded 843 votes for Keithley. [Vancouver Sun]
Turns out, the Vancouver Sun realized there’s no fool-proof way to run a poll online unless you restrict votes for a single IP address, which helps a bit (like I did for the Best of 604 Awards). It also seems like they’re a bit annoyed that Joey “Sh*thead” Keithley of the legendary DOA tops their list, but I think it’s great. Online polls are going to end up being a popularity contest and although we all love some of the nominees, they aren’t around to post messages on their websites to encourage supporters to vote.
All the more power to Keithley, who is not only in DOA but he owns Sudden Death Records, ran for the BC Green Party, and plays events for peace or environmental causes around the globe. December 21st, 2003 was also declared “DOA Day” in Vancouver in honor of the band’s anniversary.
So just who exactly did he beat out for the top spot in our province’s history? Terry Fox came in second, followed by David Suzuki then Michael J. Fox and Ross Rebagliati who round out the top five. Emily Carr was sixth, then Rick Hansen, Peter ‘Dr. Peter’ Jepson-Young, Joni Mitchell, and founder of the BC Marijuana Party, Marc Emery, rounded out the top ten.
Further down the list I found Trevor Linden (who lives in Vancouver but is originally from Medicine Hat, Alberta), Jimmy Pattison (who owns… well everything), Captain George Vancouver (explorer and namesake of our City), Libby Davies (long-running MP for Vancouver East), Chief Dan George, Douglas Copeland (author, coined the term ‘Generation X‘), Atom Egoyan (award-winning film maker), and Red Robinson all in the top fifty.
Some of my picks would also include WP Kinsella (68 on the list) “Gassy Jack” Deighton (70), William ‘Billy’ Barker cause I like Barkerville (89), and Canucks alum Tony Tanti (212)… just cause he’s Tony Tanti. There are also several news personalities on the list and I’m glad my top pick in that category, Mike McCardell (164) is included. His human interest stories at the end of the news hour each evening have warmed my heart since I was a wee tot.
The Sun’s poll does show that we don’t have too much love for former politicians (even though Harcourt is in the top fifty and Vander Zalm sits at number 106). But we love musicians – such as Nelly Furtado (11) Michael Buble (12) and Bryan Adams (16) and we love artists, Emily Carr (6) and Bill Reid (15). Unfortunately I can’t even Google some of the names I don’t recognize and they don’t even have wikipedia entries or websites with bios so a little extra research isn’t possible.
You can view the full list online and while you read it listen to some Dead Men Tell No Tales in the background.
