Canadian novelist Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” is one of the few novels I’ve started with enthusiasm and but couldn’t finish. I simply failed to connect with this award-winning wrenching fantastical story of loss, adventure and hope. But the movie, directed by award-winning director Ang Lee, promises to be something
Continue readingTag: arts
Accidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Zach Carter shines a spotlight on the few types of interests who stand to gain from austerity: But the austerity game also has winners. Cutting or eliminating government programs that benefit the less advantaged has long been an ideological goal of conservatives. Doing
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Michael Harris lists ten things the Harper Cons want Canadians to forget before the 2015 election. But it’s worth keeping in mind that their expectations for mind-wiping are surely shaped by their own willingness to completely forget what they were repeating incessantly before
Continue readingArt Threat: City of Vancouver launches Arts & Culture Policy Council
The City of Vancouver is now home to an Arts and Culture Policy Council which will advise City Council on civic programs relating to arts and culture. The creation of the council was announced back in February, but last week members of the council were finally announced. The 15-member council
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Early Music Alberta – Flash Mob – Canon in D by Pachelbel
Its hard to flash mob a harpsichord unobtrusively into a mall, full marks for EMA for “stealthing” one in. Filed under: Arts, Music Tagged: Alberta Early Music Society, Baroque Instruments, Canon in D, Flash Mob, Music
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: On Wednesday in Ottawa, Occupy This!
I just received an invite from an activist friend to attend the Ottawa launch of Judy Rebick new book on the Occupy movement and solidarity-building, Occupy This! The book excites the activist in me already, even before I’ve read it. … Continue reading →
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Sixth Estate catches a right-wing election contractor defending vote suppression, then theorizes as to how Robocon may have come together. – The introduction of Doctors for Fair Taxation is certainly a positive step in ensuring that Canadian physicians show their support for
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: #Robocall Movies: Canadian Political Humor Par Excellence
Canadian politics in the age of Stephen Harper and the Conservative majority government are depressing, to say the least. Luckily our political satire still kicks ass. Inspired by the unraveling Robo-calls scandal, a sample: [View …Read More
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: 30 Renowned Writers Speaking About God
In this 25-minute video, Jonathan Pararajasingham, a London-based neurosurgeon, presents 30 Renowned Writers Speaking About God. The writers offer both a literary homage to rationalism and humanism, and a not-so-generous critique of orthodox religious belief. …Read More
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Occupy Wall Street: The Movie
Soon, we’ll get better understanding of the passion underlining the Occupy Wall Street movement. Via the big screen. But not from Michael Moore or some other leftty big-shot Hollywood film-maker. From film-savvy activists on the …Read More
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Friday Classical Music Interlude: The Hallelujah Chorus – Flashmob Style
Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus accessible full of life and joy accessible for all. This is a repost, but too bad, the awesome has not lost its glow. Filed under: Arts, Music Tagged: Flash Mob, Friday Classical Music Interlude, Hallelujah Chorus
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: CPW Book Salon: Taking A Stand: The Evolution of Human Rights
Author: Juan E. Méndez and Marjory Wentworth Palgrave Macmillan, September 2011 ISBN: 978-0-230-11233-9, ISBN10: 0-230-11233-1, 156.000 x 234.000 inches, 256 pages Juan Méndez has experienced human rights abuse first hand. As a result of his …R…
Continue readingRob Ford to attend TIFF kickoff
Toronto mayor Rob Ford and his brother, councillor Doug Ford will be at tonight’s Toronto International Film Festival world premiere of the U2 documentary From the Sky Down. The Ford brothers have been branded ‘philistines’ by many for their lack of su…
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Friday Classical Music Interlude -Tantum ergo Op. 55 Gabriel Fauré
I cannot believe that this is the only recording of this particular song. I apologize for the poor video quality, but then again, the sound is fairly good, as well as the choir and soloist. This piece was also performed in Kaslo, and I have the intention to learn the solo and perform it with […]
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The DWR Friday Classical Music Interlude – Purcell’s Scene of the Drunken Poet
This Friday’s interlude is a bit different only because I can say that I’ve also sung what you are about to watch. The Scene of the Drunken poet is not only comedic, but musically interesting as well. Listen in the chorus parts while the sopranos, alto’s, tenor’s and basses play with the melody line in […]
Continue readingArt Threat: $16.8 million in arts funding goes to BC Arts Council
Last Thursday, July 7, BC’s Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, Ida Chong, announced $16.8 million in funding for the arts, to be administered through the BC Arts Council. This amount is the second-highest level received by the BC Arts Council in its history. In the announcement, Minister Chong apologized for the long delay […]
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: 300 – This is…disturbing.
I have long filed the 300 under the category of movies that I like. I enjoyed the theme of the many versus the few and of course the super slow motion battle sequences that make killing look like its superawesome cool. http://youtu.be/VW4d3Kukcu8 Superawesomeness aside though I did not think too much of the rest of […]
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Juxtaposition
Stephen Harper describes his party’s view of the type of environment needed for any industry to plan for the future and create jobs:“Protecting and creating jobs and ensuring economic growth in all regions remains our Government’s number one priority…
Continue readingImpolitical: Arts funding arbitrariness
Despite the diplomatic reaction by a SummerWorks board member, this does seem like a predictable result given last year’s Prime Ministerial public pronouncement about the content of one play put on by SummerWorks, a Toronto summer theatre festival: “Ot…
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Rhys Kesselman rightly points out how the populist message that propelled the Cons to power has given way to elitist policy-making:Once the federal budget is balanced, the Conservatives plan to double the TFS…
Continue reading