Sept. 24, 2016 "Nostalgia": I found this article by Emily Donaldson in the Globe and Mail:
Title Nostalgia
Author M.G. Vassanji
Genre fiction
Publisher Doubleday Canada
Pages 258
Price $29.95
Author M.G. Vassanji
Genre fiction
Publisher Doubleday Canada
Pages 258
Price $29.95
The past has always plagued M.G. Vassanji’s diasporic, mixed-race characters. It haunts and nags, percolating into their lives in inconvenient ways until the inevitable reckoning.
Now, thanks to a late-career foray into speculative fiction, Vassanji has created a world where the problem of the past has been solved for good. (Or has it?)
That world is a Toronto of the undefined but not-too-far-distant future in which technology has made near-immortality possible. The body ages, but endures. One of the downsides of longevity being the buildup of emotional baggage and dead relatives, members of (in a twisting of current nomenclature) the New Generation, or NGs, are also given new pasts – comforting, anodyne origin stories and memories implanted in their brains.
Alas, it turns out the system needs some tweaking. Occasionally, a malady known as Leaking Memory, or Nostalgia Syndrome, causes reminiscences from a previous life to intrude into the present one.
Nowadays, we think of nostalgia as a rose-tinted view of the past that’s just a knob-turn away from sentimentality. But the condition described here, which can “pull the sufferer into an internal abyss,” plays the word closer to its Greek root, algos, meaning pain or ache.
Nowadays, we think of nostalgia as a rose-tinted view of the past that’s just a knob-turn away from sentimentality. But the condition described here, which can “pull the sufferer into an internal abyss,” plays the word closer to its Greek root, algos, meaning pain or ache.
Treating nostalgia-afflicted NGs is the full-time job of Frank Sina, a doctor at the Sunflower Centre for Human Rejuvenation. As the data associated with people’s previous identities are permanently discarded (or so the government claims), Frank doesn’t know his patients’ true pasts, but some are dark indeed.
“Rejuvies” include refugees, war criminals or terrorists from across the Long Border that protects the North Atlantic Alliance from Maskinia, a loosely defined region of ex-European colonies whose inhabitants speak a Babel-like mix of Arabic, English and African languages.
Though Maskinia is considered lawless and barbaric, it’s exploited by the NAA for its valuable resources as well as its inhabitants’ genetic material. Those seeking “authentic” experiences still travel there, though the recent abduction of a young reporter, Holly Chu, has served as a reminder of the region’s dangers.
“Rejuvies” include refugees, war criminals or terrorists from across the Long Border that protects the North Atlantic Alliance from Maskinia, a loosely defined region of ex-European colonies whose inhabitants speak a Babel-like mix of Arabic, English and African languages.
Though Maskinia is considered lawless and barbaric, it’s exploited by the NAA for its valuable resources as well as its inhabitants’ genetic material. Those seeking “authentic” experiences still travel there, though the recent abduction of a young reporter, Holly Chu, has served as a reminder of the region’s dangers.
The rejuvenation process has a curiously literary bent. Assigning a new personality is called “publishing.”
Frank’s job, which involves debugging people’s personal fictions and smoothing out their inconsistencies, sounds a lot like editing: “To our eyes, every life story is one more narrative to be examined for structure and meaning and coherence; for its utility.”
Frank’s job, which involves debugging people’s personal fictions and smoothing out their inconsistencies, sounds a lot like editing: “To our eyes, every life story is one more narrative to be examined for structure and meaning and coherence; for its utility.”
Like in the old Hair Club for Men ad, Frank isn’t just a rejuvie doctor, he’s also a client. And a successful one, who values his (fake) pleasant memories of a Yukon childhood spent with his American mathematician-father and Irish poet-mother. His attractive live-in girlfriend, Joan Wayne, on the other hand, is a “BabyGen” – an actual young person with real relatives and no past lives – surprising, given that BabyGens are generally hostile to the NGs’ usurping of jobs.
Joan works in the women’s department at Bay Harrods and keeps a lover. She’s kind to Frank, but both recognize the transactional nature of their relationship. On their first night together, Frank says, they made love, “Or I made love, she gave herself up to sex. And she agreed to move in with me.”
Joan works in the women’s department at Bay Harrods and keeps a lover. She’s kind to Frank, but both recognize the transactional nature of their relationship. On their first night together, Frank says, they made love, “Or I made love, she gave herself up to sex. And she agreed to move in with me.”
The first scuff in the veneer of Frank’s life comes the day Presley Smith, a part-time security guard with a taste for Wagner, combat games and bright yellow socks, walks into his office. Presley’s red afro, pale skin and green eyes flag him as the work of the legendary, and whimsical, Author X. But something about Presley resonates with Frank more deeply. He feels an inexplicable bond with this eccentric, nervous man.
When he comes for his next appointment, Presley claims, unconvincingly, that his memories are under control, then promptly disappears. An obsessed Frank enlists his computer-assistant, Tom (whose calm, mid-Atlantic male accent and unnecessary use of Frank’s name evokes HAL more than Siri), to do some research.
He also starts keeping a journal – a book of secrets, if you will – which he handwrites to avoid Tom’s prying eyes. It’s a futile gesture: Tom has access to Frank’s thoughts though he politely pretends not to.
Sure enough, Frank is soon contacted by the Department of Internal Security (one of several Orwellian flourishes), which tells him to stop contacting Presley, who, they claim, is a national security risk. Prohibition being the surest way to pique someone’s interest, Frank does no such thing, cueing the unravelling of Nostalgia’s well-calibrated plot.
He also starts keeping a journal – a book of secrets, if you will – which he handwrites to avoid Tom’s prying eyes. It’s a futile gesture: Tom has access to Frank’s thoughts though he politely pretends not to.
Sure enough, Frank is soon contacted by the Department of Internal Security (one of several Orwellian flourishes), which tells him to stop contacting Presley, who, they claim, is a national security risk. Prohibition being the surest way to pique someone’s interest, Frank does no such thing, cueing the unravelling of Nostalgia’s well-calibrated plot.
Vassanji hardly needed the cover of speculative fiction to explore generational anxiety, ethnic identity, economic subjugation or postcolonial strife. Yet, it’s a genre he inhabits with ease. Better still, the change of scenery has put him in an appealingly playful mood.
Nostalgia is often funny and ironic, a description that hasn’t often applied to Vassanji’s writing. While portraying Toronto’s Yonge and Eglinton as a hotbed for social foment is a bit of an inside joke – the corner is known locally as “Young and Eligible” – other touches, such as the characterizing of anti-rejuvenation religious groups as “pro-death” will have broader resonance. (In other bad news, the Leafs are still losing.)
Nostalgia is often funny and ironic, a description that hasn’t often applied to Vassanji’s writing. While portraying Toronto’s Yonge and Eglinton as a hotbed for social foment is a bit of an inside joke – the corner is known locally as “Young and Eligible” – other touches, such as the characterizing of anti-rejuvenation religious groups as “pro-death” will have broader resonance. (In other bad news, the Leafs are still losing.)
There’s self-abnegating charm, too, to the fact that Nostalgia is also a fiction about the insufficiency of fiction. When the pathetic reality of Frank’s situation finally hits him, he has a moment of despairing lucidity: “I’m a fake. I’m a fiction. A character in a book.”
I like this part in the debuts by Jade Colbert in the Globe and Mail on Sept. 24, 2016:
Children of the New World
By Alexander Weinstein
Picador, 240 pages, $22.99
Speculative fiction has a reputation, perhaps unfair, for tending toward extremes: dystopian societies (utopias inevitably reveal their dystopian natures), post apocalypses in which cataclysm demarcates present from past, instead of disaster being the very fabric of human history.
The future presented in Alexander Weinstein’s stories is not so outlandish. Its technology is an extension of what we have now, its role unchanged:
The thrilling becomes mundane, a job, a chore. The ecological catastrophe is everything we’ve been told to expect.
What interests Weinstein is the relation between people. In the title story, the new world is a Sims-like virtual environment where a childless couple starts a family. Their children are data; the couple’s feelings for them are not.
Several stories suggest societal deterioration only to undercut such pessimism. Suffering, then as now, is unevenly distributed. What is new about this new world is its expression, which is why reading these stories fills one with intense recognition. This new world is ours.
The future presented in Alexander Weinstein’s stories is not so outlandish. Its technology is an extension of what we have now, its role unchanged:
The thrilling becomes mundane, a job, a chore. The ecological catastrophe is everything we’ve been told to expect.
What interests Weinstein is the relation between people. In the title story, the new world is a Sims-like virtual environment where a childless couple starts a family. Their children are data; the couple’s feelings for them are not.
Several stories suggest societal deterioration only to undercut such pessimism. Suffering, then as now, is unevenly distributed. What is new about this new world is its expression, which is why reading these stories fills one with intense recognition. This new world is ours.
Oct. 1, 2016 "Westworld is a fantastic mess of action, ideas and melancholy": I found this article by John Doyle in the Globe and Mail . I wasn't going to watch Westworld because it was on HBO. It didn't look that interesting. If I can have access to watch it, I will:
Some of us are hopeful. Others are cynical. Some see grace and hope in nature. Others see our destruction looming in our avarice for things, not people or nature, and feel certain that a soulless future is on the horizon.
Westworld (Sunday, HBO, 9 p.m.) takes us to a place where these views collide.
Mega budgeted and beautifully made, it is a fantastic mess of action, ideas and melancholy. As a story, it has flaws and sometimes soars. As a statement, it is achingly pensive. It is not, as some coverage suggests, HBO’s next Game of Thrones. It doesn’t have the same aesthetic or dramatic torque while it certainly is sweeping and seductive in a perverse way. Buckle up for a mind-blowing ride.
Mega budgeted and beautifully made, it is a fantastic mess of action, ideas and melancholy. As a story, it has flaws and sometimes soars. As a statement, it is achingly pensive. It is not, as some coverage suggests, HBO’s next Game of Thrones. It doesn’t have the same aesthetic or dramatic torque while it certainly is sweeping and seductive in a perverse way. Buckle up for a mind-blowing ride.
We are transported to a theme park called Westworld (the premise is derived loosely from Michael Crichton’s pulpy 1973 film of the same name), an Old West town populated by lifelike robots, called hosts, who exist to satisfy the desires of paying guests (called newcomers) who are charged vast amounts of money for an immersive, authentic Western experience.
Some guests want to dress up, kick back at the saloon, talk to some cowpokes and local beauties, and maybe accompany the sheriff who is hunting down some varmint in the hills.
Others want to kill and rape. There’s a narrative for every paying guest’s wish. Besides, the robots are not human, obviously, they just look that way. You want to rape and murder? You can be accommodated and the mangled robot will be cleaned up and repaired when you leave, then reprogrammed for the next storyline and the next guest.
Overseeing all of this is a corporation led by the genius creator of these androids, Dr. Ford (Anthony Hopkins), who’s been making the robots increasingly lifelike for so long he that thinks of them as people. Or does he? Certainly he’s under pressure to make the park more lucrative and get injured androids back in service more quickly, but seems to want to take his time. The employees are both suspicious and afraid of him.
It’s obvious from the get-go that something is going awry. The hosts in the park begin acting strangely, not according to their programmed narratives. And there is a sinister figure, known only as the Man in Black (Ed Harris) who senses the imbalance and seeks to manipulate the situation. An air of lugubrious tension hangs over the first episodes.
We see guests behaving outrageously. The characters you want to root for are the robots.
We see guests behaving outrageously. The characters you want to root for are the robots.
Chief among them and in the the starring role is Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood), who lives an uncanny, Groundhog Day existence. Every day is the same for her. She awakes and arises in the phony homestead, has the same conversation with her old dad, goes to paint for a while and then goes into town. The only variation is what she is programmed to do for the rest of the day. And yet, we sense she has latent human feelings and that nothing good will come of it.
Thematically, there is so much going on that Westworld (its creators are married TV veterans Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy Nolan) is at first bewildering. First, we can see the emphasis on the innate evil of men who are wealthy enough to afford adventures in the park.
Goodness is ephemeral, flimsy. Put people in the circumstance where risk-free behaviour is offered and the worst happens.
Second, the series is about making television itself – the creative team behind the theme park have the power to construct narratives that can appall or please the guests.
Third, it is made clear that sooner or later we come to love machines, we anthropomorphize.
And there is so much more. Unsettling and unapologetically ambitious and adult, Westworld is very much worth your time.
Goodness is ephemeral, flimsy. Put people in the circumstance where risk-free behaviour is offered and the worst happens.
Second, the series is about making television itself – the creative team behind the theme park have the power to construct narratives that can appall or please the guests.
Third, it is made clear that sooner or later we come to love machines, we anthropomorphize.
And there is so much more. Unsettling and unapologetically ambitious and adult, Westworld is very much worth your time.
Also airing this weekend – This Life (Sunday, CBC, 9 p.m.) returns for its second season. The adaptation of the popular and acclaimed series Nouvelle adresse, made for Radio-Canada, the CBC’s French-language service, had a strong run in its first outing.
It’s somewhat angsty, obviously, given that the central character Natalie Lawson (Torri Higginson), has cancer and has been given a year to live. As this season opens, she is part of a trial for a new cancer treatment and therefore has some hope. But, around her, the family is stretched, trying to cope.
The strength of the first episodes was anchored by the deft comedy of people trying to comfort Natalie, but also live well and expand their horizons in light of Natalie’s condition. By far the most compelling character is her sister Maggie (Lauren Lee Smith), who is addicted to being irresponsible.
It’s somewhat angsty, obviously, given that the central character Natalie Lawson (Torri Higginson), has cancer and has been given a year to live. As this season opens, she is part of a trial for a new cancer treatment and therefore has some hope. But, around her, the family is stretched, trying to cope.
The strength of the first episodes was anchored by the deft comedy of people trying to comfort Natalie, but also live well and expand their horizons in light of Natalie’s condition. By far the most compelling character is her sister Maggie (Lauren Lee Smith), who is addicted to being irresponsible.
CBC also launches This is High School (Sunday, 8 p.m.), a new six-part series created from the combined footage of 50 remote-controlled cameras placed in a typical secondary school, in Kamloops. B.C., for several weeks. It promises stories about, “Internet bullying, self-image, fitting in, identity, anxiety attacks, anger management, the pressure to excel, the desire to drop out, autism, nerds, popular girls and 8th grade boys who can’t resist testing their boundaries.” Phew.
The Simpsons: They recently aired this episode:
"Homer finds a new friend in a woman who acts just like him when Mr. Burns hires the other Simpsons as his live-in virtual reality family."
I'm switching it up a bit. From Jan. 2015- Dec. 2019, I have been posting job articles.
Now there will be more filmmaking articles.
My week:
Sun. Dec. 29, 2019 Work: I worked at my 1st restaurant job and it was quiet. It was fun that I got to talk to the server Sh about TV. Sh is a Filipino guy in his early 20s.
TV shows/ mid-season 2020:
1. Arrow- I watched it from day one. Sh said he stopped at season 3 when he got Netflix.
2. Criminal Minds- I also watched that show from the beginning. Sh watches that show here and there.
Sh: You know that black guy?
Tracy: Shemar Moore who left the show to do the TV show SWAT?
Sh: Yeah, did his character die?
Tracy: No, his character moved away.
The last season (15) of the show will come out on Jan. 8, 2020.
3. Quantico- I watched all the episodes. Sh says he watched the first season and a bit of the 2nd season.
4. Supernatural- I watched a few eps when it came out and thought it was average. Sh watched all the eps and said it improved in season 4.
5. Manifest- This show came out fall 2018 and I liked it. It was average.
"After a turbulent, but routine flight, those onboard discover the world has aged five years, and soon a deeper mystery unfolds."
The 2nd season comes out on Jan. 6, 2020 on City TV and it's 13 episodes. I'm going to guess the show will be cancelled after the 2nd season because it went from fall to mid-season.
Does anyone remember Timeless that came out in fall 2016? It then got a 2nd season and it came out in spring and got cancelled.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8421350/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
6. Burden of Truth: This Canadian law drama is back on Jan. 8, 2020 on CBC.
https://gem.cbc.ca/season/burden-of-truth/season-3/2b9e3e72-ba88-44cd-a3cf-02dff9cac604
7. Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector:
"A retired forensic criminologist teams up with an ambitious young detective to help capture some of the most dangerous criminals in America."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9307990/
LINCOLN RHYME: HUNT FOR THE BONE COLLECTOR, NBC
PREMIERE DATE: Jan. 10
TIME SLOT: Fridays at 8/7c
WHO: Russell Hornsby (Grimm), Arielle Kebbel (Midnight, Texas), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Brían F. O’Byrne (Nightflyers), Tate Ellington (Quantico), Courtney Grosbeck (The Bold and the Beautiful), Brooke Lyons (Life Sentence), Ramses Jimenez, Roslyn Ruff
WHAT: Based on Jeffery Deaver’s novel The Bone Collector, this crime drama centers on former NYPD detective and forensic genius Lincoln Rhyme, who was seriously injured by a notorious serial killer. He and young officer Amelia Sachs join forces to crack the city’s most confounding cases, while racing to take down the enigmatic Bone Collector who brought them together.
Jan. 3, 2020:
8. Deputy: I was looking at the website and I saw this show was on Fox so I watched the pilot. It had a lot of action. It was average and I will record the episodes and will watch it all in one week. I expect this show to last 1 season because it's mid-season, and most of those shows usually aren't good and last 1 season.
There are exceptions like Lucifer that came out mid-season and is on their 5th season.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8873996/?ref_=rvi_tt
Jan. 3, 2020:
8. Deputy: I was looking at the website and I saw this show was on Fox so I watched the pilot. It had a lot of action. It was average and I will record the episodes and will watch it all in one week. I expect this show to last 1 season because it's mid-season, and most of those shows usually aren't good and last 1 season.
There are exceptions like Lucifer that came out mid-season and is on their 5th season.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8873996/?ref_=rvi_tt
Then I talked to the hostess G and she said she watches lots of Hallmark Christmas TV movies. I have seen a couple because my favorite Edmonton actor Eric Johnson is in it. I don't like those because they're boring. There is hardly any drama, conflict, or tension to make the story interesting.
She did see Last Christmas and said it was sad, but good.
https://badcb.blogspot.com/2014/12/call-me-mrs-miracle-tv-movie.html
"Canada Goose slammed for 'capitalizing' on Toronto pedestrian deaths with new $1,500 jacket":
Canada Goose is receiving backlash for allegedly seeking to profit off of Toronto’s dangerous city streets.
On December 11, the Toronto-based company unveiled their latest design, a winter jacket for both men and women that pays homage to the city.
According to the brand’s website, the 3-in-1 Toronto Jacket was designed with the city’s “unpredictable” weather in mind. Available in bright white for women ($1,495) and black for men ($1,395), the down coat features a “Toronto” detailed grab strap on the back, and a special pocket at the wrist to hold a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) pass card. The Toronto Jacket also features reflective detailing at the cuffs and reflective webbing to help increase visibility for urban dwellers.
https://ca.style.yahoo.com/canada-goose-street-death-toronto-jacket-172604287.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jYS55YWhvby5jb20vP3A9dXMmZ3VjY291bnRlcj0x&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGOt1uNggotmjSTdQ7bLyX7MO_fhoO_jGJDAIu8MytyEPg-TE4iCaVvvdinsoHvtPvUBageQ2rRDj71bRDGU5mY-Doo3a6VTc4VCKwJwl0HiTLWc3Vjx-JmWXpoZZuykmLG-l6Q1dz578a1tKmlwJaheyGzZQg8XUk6MDwRdY-nJ
- 7 days ago
- 7 days ago
Jogging gear has included reflective strips for years. Some people in Canada think too much.
My opinion: I agree with the comments that Canada Goose is doing something good like helping people be more visible.
Dec. 31, 2019 Cannabis stores robbery in Edmonton:
While the majority of cannabis shops in Edmonton have full and opaque window coverings, including YSS, some have chosen to keep sight lines open as much as possible by installing partial coverings, like fog strips, that make foot traffic visible but keep products out of sight.
“We’re not going to be (fully) covering the windows,” said Wilson.
I don't get those foolish window covering anyways, must be like working in a closet. It's not like people don't know what they are selling. The "stupid rules committee" must have been on overtime.
If you're selling something that has to be hidden, you're just as creepy.
My opinion: If you want to work at a cannabis store, it's not safe and is prone to be robbed like a liquor store. Of course, any store can be robbed, but those are most likely.
That reminds me of a MTV Music Video Award show where before they show the nominees, there is a video before it.
Young woman: I don't like how music videos blur out people giving the finger.
She then gives the finger and it blurs it out.
Young woman: Is there anyone here who doesn't know what I'm doing? I think music videos should blur out random things in it to make it more interesting.
Jan. 1, 2020 Queen of Manifestation: I have been listening to Jen Mazer and her 12 Days of Solstice videos. I have been liking it and sharing it on Facebook. It's been positive listening to her talk about setting goals and intentions for the new year and new decade.
Day 11:
What do you want to feel when you get this/ or achieve this goal? Happy? Then get into that feeling now to attract it.
Day 10:
Let's review what went well and what didn't go well.
How would you improve?
What are your priorities?
Do you still want to achieve this goal?
Day 8:
The community has collective wisdom because of other people's experiences and they can help you.
Day 7:
The 8 min. 30 sec part talks about this study where the heart can intuitively slow down or go fast before a picture appears.
This is about self love and taking care of yourself, and gratitude.
Day 6:
Write your goals and intentions like they are already happening in the present. If you say "I will make $5000 a month" then "will" is in the future. You should write "I will make more than $5000 a month."
Day 5:
Don't be afraid of change in order to experience something new, you have to make a shift.
Day 3:
The three fold rule is like karma. Whatever you do will come back to you in three fold.
This is the Ram Dass quote I mentioned: "When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent.. you sort of understand that it didn't get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don't get all emotional about it. You just allow it. The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying, 'You are too this, or I'm too this.' That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are."
Day 2:
Tell people about the positive things that happened in your life. It will make them happy and raise their energy.
Day 1:
Reflect on what went well and didn't in 2019. Also clean your home.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/QueenOfManifestation/videos/?ref=page_internal
Jan. 2, 2020 Rapper Lexxi Alija passed away: I didn't know who she was, but I decided to listen to her song "Me Myself and I." That's sad.
https://theinnersane.com/2020/01/02/sudden-and-unexpected-demise-lexii-alijai-21-year-old-rapper-passed-away-on-new-years-day/
Bobbie Kristina Brown’s Boyfriend And Guilty Attacker Nick Gordon Dies, Suspect Drug Overdose:
My opinion: It seems like death surrounds Whitney Houston, to Bobbi Kristina Brown, to Nick Gordon.
https://theinnersane.com/2020/01/02/bobbie-kristina-browns-boyfriend-and-guilty-attacker-nick-gordon-dies-suspect-drug-overdose/
Jan. 3, 2020 GE Call centres: I found this 2007 Job Classfied ad.
The website doesn't work:
https://www.gecallcentercareers.com/
It lead me to this, and it's in the US:
https://www.accessify.com/g/gecallcentercareers.com
