I’ve probably only seen about half of the movies on this list but still think this is film at its best.
Head Tale
Yet Another Librarian's Blog
An Early Contender For My Favourite Book of the Year? @thejagmeetsingh #canpoli #cndpoli
I read Jagmeet Singh’s autobiography in pretty much a single sitting at our campsite this weekend and really enjoyed it.
Obviously I’m a fan of Singh but I think this book would be one that anyone who enjoys memoirs would enjoy and learn from, whether they liked the NDP or not.
* before it was released, there were excerpts talking about how Singh disclosed some sexual abuse at the hands of a martial arts instructor when he was a young boy. It still sometimes surprises me that this can be talked about so openly in our society now compared to even a few years ago but I still thought this was a brave admission for a politician at his level.
* His family story is the story of how immigrant families often struggle, even with great advantages. His dad was trained as a doctor but had to work menial jobs and it took a lot of persistence to obtain Canadian medical credentials.
* After that, his dad eventually spiralled into alcoholism and again, I’d heard a bit about how Singh had to support his family as a young man due to family troubles but didn’t realise the extent of it until reading this book – the dad kicked out of the house, the family filing for bankruptcy, his dad nearly drinking himself to death before rehab finally worked after multiple tries and he was even able to regain his medical license.
* There are lots of references to his love of books and libraries throughout the book which I’m pretty biased towards (and as a librarian, I also see how many other young people who don’t feel safe – because of their race or their socioeconomic status or their mental health issues – regularly talk about how the library is a place where they feel safe and accepted.)
* As I mentioned when I talked about the similarities I saw between Singh and Ryan Meili in terms of accomplished men with activist roots and unique personal stories being one of their common appeals, I also like that we’re finally getting leaders who are the same age as I am – and the book is sprinkled with references to pop culture, music and movies he grew up with – that made me feel like Singh and I came of age in a very similar way.
* Fun to read about his experiences in undergrad at Western given that I did my MLIS there.
* One of the reasons I think this book will appeal to anyone who likes memoirs is that it’s *not* heavy on politics like so many other political biographies (Justin Trudeau’s is on my list and I suspect it’ll probably be *way* less personal than this one) and in fact, skips over much of Singh’s political rise completely. Instead, Singh lays out how he grew into the man he is today – his family, his faith, his frustration with how he was treated as a minority – and lets you make up your own mind about what that means in terms of his role as a high profile leader in our country.
The NDP has taken a lot of flak since Singh’s election – about fundraising and MPs leaving and disorganization – but I honestly believe that Singh is an amazing embodiment of what the *best* of Canada is and aspires to be and if the NDP folks can find a way to communicate that to the general population, the NDP could surprise a lot of people in this fall’s election!
(Belated) Secular Sunday – America’s Epidemic of Empty Churches
America has an epidemic of abandoned churches but they could always look to convert them into libraries!
(Belated) Saturday Snap – Giant Checkers
Having a fun day at Nickle Lake’s activity shack (which, almost unbelievably, they chose to call “The Beaver Shack” during a contest last summer!)
However, it shall always be “Nickle Make” to me after the name I submitted! 😉
Throwback Thursday – #tbt – I Miss America (March 2009)
Happy (?) Fourth of July.
I think I’ve mentioned that Shea’s and my “mini protest’ after Trump was elected was deciding not to go to the USA – mostly because of him but also because I just found the USA to be increasingly at odds with my personal values in general – from the gun violence to the overt displays of religion to the general ignorance of much of the population. (I think I’ve told the story of meeting a guy from Montana in Mexico and him not knowing where Saskatchewan was – even though our borders literally touch!)
Anyhow, we didn’t go to the US a lot but we had visited a handful of times over the years including everywhere from North Dakota to Hawaii so deciding to boycott an entire country does rule out opportunities to explore some of the most interesting, unique places and landscapes on earth.
The photo above is from a trip to one of those places – Las Vegas – which we got to for a weekend in 2009 and where my “twenty bucks a day max” gambling limit led to me hitting a pretty decent (relatively) jackpot!
Oh well – hopefully in 2020, the US will be back on our “Yes Fly” list. 😉
Ten Things I’m Thinking About Lately
- Hand dryers and noise pollution (especially in libraries)
- How we’re always saying goodbye to people we love without realising it. (h/t to JB on FB)
- How come Photos on my Macbook stopped showing recently uploaded photos a month ago even though I can see all my latest photos when I log in to Photos through iCloud?
- How no company should *ever* be allowed to name their product something generic like “Photos” if they ever want people to be able to find solutions to their problems.
- How could I ever get mad at Sasha for making up “recipes” of all the shampoos while in the tub when I used to do the same thing myself as a kid? (But did she have to add a whole bag of expensive epsom salts in her mix???)
- I wonder if my parents thought I was wasting my time with all of my focus on computers growing up and now those skills are a large part of my current job. So why do I have those same worries about my kids doing things differently than when I was a kid when they might be learning future skills too? (Watching iPad videos and playing XBox One are life skills, right?)
- Ian Noe.
- When a voice-to-text phone message at work says “We’re looking for opportunities in vagina” and I still get a chuckle from the oldest joke that exists about Regina, Saskatchewan.
- How I’m against censorship but I self-censored the joke I was actually going to make in that last bullet point.
- What other things I believe strongly that I might be wrong or lying to myself about.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and Live Aid (1985) Scene Comparison
This is pretty cool!
Music Monday – “Well, Canada’s been good to us/We’ve a living and a home/We’ve all got central heating air/And most are on the phone/I’m a citizen of both countries/And very proud to be/For the thistle and the maple leaf/Are the emblems of the free”
Happy Canada Day!
I recently re-discovered this photo of myself and four other four Canadians on exchange to the University College of Ripon & York St. John (say that three times fast!) in 1995.
I can’t remember the impetus for our fashion choice – maybe at a dance or for the new student orientation? – but anyhow, we all decided to dress as Canadians (and yes, we all had plaid in our wardrobes though one of the cooler exchange students decided to go with leather!)
Anyhow, this was in the cassette days and I still remember going to a nearby pawn shop when I first arrived in York as a priority was to get a radio/alarm for school. I think I paid ten pounds for a great one that even had dual cassette capabilities but then realised I didn’t have any good tapes to play in it.
Luckily, Tyler who was my fellow exchange student on the far left in the photo above had a few mix tapes – Tragically Hip, Blue Rodeo, Spirit of the West – and since I had a decent cassette player, was able to make copies of them all.
I listened to those tapes non-stop (and my sister mailed me a few to supplement my meagre collection) but Spirit of the West was probably the band that defined the trip for me more than any other – to the degree that I had printed out the lyrics to “Home For A Rest” and posted them on my dorm room door.
Anyhow, there’s lots of SOTW songs I could post today but this one feels right – it’s about Scottish people abroad but could also easily apply in reverse to a Scottish/Irish/English kid from the prairies visiting northern England, not too far from Scotland.