Photo Feature: Cherry Blossoms

One of the first Cherry Blossoms in Victoria, B.C. this spring - sometime in March (taken by Michael Davidson)

If you have any pictures you would like to submit, please email them to pieceofdust@gmail.com

Weird Coincidences

When I started this blog I swore to myself this wouldn't be one of those feelings type blogs where I write that I had a piece of toast for breakfast. While this is not quite a mundane part of my day, it is probably registering high on the "Who the eff cares" factor. Read on if you interested in weird things...

Today I was riding the bus home from my school. I am a fairly observant person and I happened to notice a man beside me (well, I was behind him, but my seat was facing sideways - ahhh, the weirdly arranged bus seats) was reading a book and he was just starting Chapter 6 (yes I realize this is really boring - keep reading). Across the aisle from him was another woman reading a book and since my mind was already on the sight of books I looked a bit closer. I noticed she too was starting a chapter. I looked a bit closer and saw that it was Chapter 7. A simple coincidence you might say.... well it gets a bit weirder.

I had seen another lady (she was in the back corner of the bus, which was in front and to the left of me) reading and I thought after I saw the chapter 6 and 7: wouldn't it be funny if she was starting chapter 8. Well I could see the page she was on by the reflection in the window. I looked and I stared. Could it be? This was really starting to get to me. I almost got up and asked her, but I saw it. The letters: E..... I..... G.... H.... T. I kid you not. I just started to think to myself: Am I in the matrix? Is this some sort of computing error where the random number generator breaks down and goes in order? Surely the odds of three people on a bus all starting a chapter are astronomically small. The factor in the fact that they were on successive chapters. Then what are the odds they would all be sitting near me and I would look at them IN THE ORDER of the chapters. Truly mind boggling...

I hope that didn't bore you to death.

If you have any crazy and weird stories like that, please send them to pieceofdust@gmail.com and I'll publish them... geez, I'm still a bit spooked from this.

Movie Review: Half Nelson

Yes, I realize today is supposed to be teaching on Tuesday. Luckily I saw a movie this past weekend about teaching.... sort of.

Half Nelson tells the story of a friendship between a teacher and a student that has many drug overtones. Don't worry, I wouldn't be writing this if the teacher were selling the student drugs. What actually happens is that Drey (played by relative newcomer Shareeka Epps) happens to witness her coach and teacher - Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling - yes, the one who we all watched go to highschool on a cruise ship) - having a bad reaction to some drugs - in the girls locker room long after a game no less. This starts a friendship between the two. Complicating the mix is a family "friend" named Frank (most likely this is a friend of Drey's older brother who is in prison. It is assumed that that Frank is the reason or part of the reason the brother is in jail - though it is never said). Frank (played by Anthony Mackie of 8 Mile and Million Dollar Baby) befriends Drey as well and also tries to influence her life.

The competing forces are interesting in this story. Drey is being torn between a drug addict and a drug dealer. As the movie goes on it appears that both Drey and Mr. Dunne are helping each other out. The ending doesn't really clarify much, but it did leave me with a good feeling.

One of the first things I noticed was the grainy feel of the movie. I'm assuming this was done on purpose and gives a realistic feel to the movie (so does the vulnerability of Mr. Dunne and his addiction).

Since this was one of two movies I saw this weekend that were actually good (there were three not so great movies), I give this a 3.5/4. This is an interesting movie that tackles a difficult subject without resorting to preaching about not doing drugs.

Just a disclaimer: I know of very few teachers like Mr. Dunne. Most teachers I know drink to get rid of their problems and alcohol is completely legal here.

Movie Review: Blood Diamond

About a year and a half ago, everyone in my program was getting engaged and showing off their rings in class. When I saw Blood Diamond, I wish I had the knowledge that movie gave me at that time. I would have asked them if their diamonds are conflict free. (You must be thinking I like to stir the pot. I sure do.)

The issue that envelops Blood Diamond, is that of conflict diamonds (also known as war diamonds). These are diamonds that come from war zones. The money "earned" from selling these diamonds helps fuel the wars and contributes to people killing more people.

The three main characters (well, two really) are played by Leonardo DiCaprio (sporting a South African accent) and Djimon Hounsou (of Amistad, Gladiator and The Island). DiCaprio plays a diamond smuggler and Hounsou plays a fisherman who has discovered a rather large diamond. Somehow the two cross paths and finding the diamond becomes a priority for them together. Jennifer Connelly (Labrynth) plays a journalist who helps them out.

This movie is full of scenes that will make you wonder how people could be capable of such things. The scenes with the child soldiers are terrifying and will definitely take some of your innocence (ignorance?).

Blood Diamond is definitely a must see. It will definitely make you think twice about buying diamonds. I give this a 3.75/4: near perfect (the romantic interest takes a bit away from the whole message of the movie, but otherwise it is a well made film).

As a side note, I realize I missed posting for the first day since I started yesterday. I actually have about 5 more movie reviews to do from this week, but things have been very busy and when they've not been busy I've been exhausted. Soon my busyness will be over. And then I can really work on this blog...

Photo Feature: Pickup Basketball

Pickup basketball on Caye Caulker, Belize (taken by Alexandra Gillett)

If you have any pictures you would like to submit, please email them to pieceofdust@gmail.com.

Problem of the Day Part IX

So I have still not really caught up with the good posts. I promise a lot are coming really soon!

To start today's problem, let's take up the problems from last Thursday:

1. The letter M occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, but never in a thousand years?

2. The man does not get any hairs wet because he is completely bald.

3. All wise men, regardless of their religion or politics, agree that the word "AND" is between heaven and earth.

Alex G., Heather D. and Carly G. all get three points for their correct answers.

This installments questions are movie trivia, but the answers are not easily found (note actor could mean actress, I just used actor and assumed you realized it could be a male or a female):

1. What actor got his start playing an extremely minor role in one movie of a trilogy and then later went on to play a much bigger role in another trilogy? You get one point each for naming the actor, the first trilogy, which movie of the first trilogy and the second trilogy (4 points total).

2. This well-known actor played a lesser role in a well-known movie. The character replaced another character when the original character was unable to continue their duties. The original character also played a doctor on tv. For one point each, name: the movie, the two actors, and the tv show in which the actor played a doctor (4 points total).

As always, email your responses to pieceofdust@gmail.com with "Problem of the Day Part IX" as your subject line. I encourage those people who have yet to respond to give it a try as anything can happen...

Good luck!

The First Step to Solving Any Computer Problem

Before I relate this true story from today, I thought I should mention that due to circumstances beyond my control I have not had the time to make the posts I had wanted to make today. If time allows this weekend I may make posts on days that they're not supposed to be on. I have the next few days off of school (4 day weekend! - sort of, I still have to go in tomorrow) and will be able to write a lot then.

In the meantime I shall relate a story to you from school today (that is related to technology):

I had sent my grade 5's to the computer lab to write their good copies of poems we had been working on this week. I was talking with some students in the class when two students returned to tell me and my host teacher that several of the computers weren't working. My host teacher followed them to the lab to solve the problem, while I stayed back and helped the students I was helping. When I was done, I went to the lab to check on the students and found my host teacher looking all around the tables to see what was unplugged. I walked to one of the computers and looked at the screen. It had some bouncing boxes on it saying the monitor was plugged in but to check the cables. I looked closely..... and taught a few people a very valuable lesson: Often the problem is much simpler than it looks. I turned the computers on and the problem was solved. I had a grin that must have stretched ear to ear at this point.

Moral of the story: if you're computer isn't working, always check to make sure it's on before you get help.

The Earth is Running Out of Earth!

You may have noticed that during the last two days my posting has slowed down a bit. I've been very busy, but most of that is over now so I'm going to try and make a good post here.

I read an article in the Globe and Mail Focus section this weekend that I thought was rather interesting. The article was called "Planet Earth has a dirty little secret" (unfortunately it is not available for free on the Globe website, but you can purchase it if you like).

The main idea of the article is that we are destroying or degrading the usable soil faster than it can regenerate. We are doing this by building on top of the soil, by poisoning the soil and by growing crops too often in the soil. The author, John Allemang, and the scientist he talks to, David R. Montgomery, say that even if we can solve all of the other environmental problems, we will eventually run out of soil and be unable to grow the food we need. Problems with dirt can easily cause famines which have, in the past, killed many people (100 000 people in West Africa in 1973). Dr. Montgomery suggests that we have between 200 and 2000 years until we get into real troubles. It is estimated that we lose 1% of our usable land worldwide each year.

I don't want to paraphrase the article completely, but I will give some points that I thought were important:

• since World War II approximately 40% of global cropland has degraded.
• our ancestors were much fewer in number and would often farm an area dry and move on to the next. We do not have that luxury any more.
• people are more likely to get behind issues related to water than issues related to dirt.

Dr. Montgomery has a book that covers this topic (sorry, the link is Amazon. Keep in mind there are MUCH better places to buy books from!).

I guess this post could come off as another warning to the masses to go along with global warming (climate change), pollution, etc. I think this is just another sign that we need to rethink the way we live. All of our environmental "issues" these days stem from the same attitude many of us have with regards to the planet. That is the real issue. This latest idea is but one symptom of a bigger problem. I'm at a loss myself, but obviously if this is right, we do need to start making some changes...

Photo Feature: Morning Fog

A foggy May morning just outside of my house in Victoria B.C. (taken by Michael Davidson).

If you have any pictures you would like to submit, please email them to pieceofdust@gmail.com. I have very few pictures lined up for these and would like to have more than one a week - they don't have to be nature related, but just interesting pictures.

Problem of the Day Part VIII

First off, lets get to the answers from last week:

1. Strengths is the longest word in the English language with only one vowel.

2. Words I accepted with no vowels and at least 6 letters: crypts, crwths, rhythm, rhythms, syzygy, trysts, and nymphs

3. A word with 9 "O"s and 6 "C"s: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. See here for a definition.

Carly G. earned 11 points and Heather D. earned 10 points with their efforts.

This week's problem is as follows:

Fill in a series of letters to finish the sentence. Each blank has the same letters in the same order, but the letters are broken up with different spaces each time. What is the completed sentence?

A ________ doctor had ________ and therefore, was ________ to operate.

If you get this difficult problem, you'll get 6 points.

Here's an easier one, worth 3 points. This one has the same word in each space. The word is exactly the same each time with no spaces.

My _______ is _______ than my wallet.

Good luck!

P.S. As a side note to get more people motivated to answer this, I've noticed my sister (Heather D.) has been bragging on her blog (I will talk about this more later once she's had a few more posts since her hiatus).

P.S.S. Don't forget there's still another set of questions to be answered. You have until Thursday to answer these ones!

Movie Review: Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona is one of those movies that you never really hear about, but it's on a lot of lists of great movies, so I thought I would watch it and find out for myself. I was pleasantly surprised, though at times I found the movie difficult to watch.

Starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, Raising Arizona is about a couple (a paroled criminal and a police officer) who get married and find out they are unable to have babies. In a hysterical rage, H.I. (Cage) is convinced to steal one baby from a recently born set of quintuplets. A manhunt thus ensues.

I found it very hard to be sympathetic to any of the characters and I think the filmmakers did that on purpose. For a while I was trying to figure out what made this movie so good. Then came a ridiculous and hilarious chase scene through stores, houses and streets in an (unsuccessful) attempt to get "Huggies" (product placement is quite evident throughout the movie). There are several such sequences that are so unbelievable that they'll make you laugh. The movie does end with your typical Hollywood ending (though what that is, is hard to tell during the movie). Overall, this is definitely a good watch. Written and directed by the Coen brothers (Ethan and Joel of Fargo fame), the film also stars John Goodman and Frances McDormand.

I give this movie a 4.5/5. It doesn't seem like a great movie, but it will definitely make you laugh (and make you disgusted with the lengths some people will go to). Check it out and let me know what you think.

Book Review: My Friend Leonard

I'm sure you all heard about the controversy with Oprah and James Frey over Frey's "memoir" A Million Little Pieces. Personally, I don't care if he lied or not, I thought that was a great book. Anyone who thought it was completely true is living in a dream world. I'm sorry, but how many movies have you seen that are "based on actual events"? Rarely are those movies accurate. So take the first book as it is: a story.

But my focus in this post is not A Million Little Pieces, but My Friend Leonard. MFL starts where AMLP left off.

Most of this book is absolutely ridiculous and lacks the urgency of AMLP (it's hard to top a guy who's trying to beat a drug addiction) and I actually was having a hard time believing that this book was actually good (it was recommended to me by a good friend). The beginning is great (although extremely gut-wrenching), but soon after the initial tragedy, the book takes a sharp turn downwards. Frey paints a picture of his friend Leonard as a man who lives to the excess. Always buying more food than people can eat, and just generally using his money and influence to please the characters it seems like a very shallow friendship. The books coasts like that for the middle 80%. It took me about a month to read this, partly because it just wasn't that interesting. However, the last 100 pages started to pick up and the last 30 or 40 make the whole experience worthwhile. I won't spoil any endings, but the friendship comes out as much much more in those last pages.

What Frey did (at least to me) is to give me a character that I didn't really like and that did things in a manner which is not necessarily the most honorable. He spent a whole book building this persona up. Then when you think there's no saving grace, he explains the character's actions.

It's definitely worth a read, especially if you liked AMLP.

I'll give this book 4/5. The middle that drags on is the reason I can't give it a 5, but the ending is why I won't give it a 2.

Making a Difference in Africa: Part I

A few weeks ago I shared a blog with you about a trip to Central America. I thought today I would share a blog with you of a friend of mine who went to Africa (Tanzania to be precise) to do some voluteer work. She went there with YCI (Youth Challenge International).

Read her blog if you want to hear more about her trip (I believe she's already back in Canada).

More on YCI and trips to Africa will appear in future posts.

A Mother's Day Poem

This week with my class, I had my students write a poem for their Moms to give them today. I wrote an example for them so I thought I'd share that with everyone today:

My Mom
by M. Davidson

Thank you very much dear Mom,

Thank you for the work you did,

And all the time you spent with me,

I know I wasn't the best of kids.

Thank you for the meals you cooked,

That made me grow up big and strong,

For driving me to soccer practice,

And staying late when it went long.

Thanks for cleaning my scraped knees,

My pants were often ripped and torn,

But you cleaned up the icky blood,

And didn't even scorn.

Thanks for washing my dirty clothes,

I know it's hard to stand the stink,

I tried to make it up to you,

By washing dishes in the sink.

Thank you for the yummy cookies,

They often made my day,

I especially like the chocolate chips,

Before I ventured out to play.

Thank you Mom, thank you Mom,

I couldn't have done it on my own,

You truly helped me out a lot,

Now look at me: I'm here all grown.

You really made a difference Mom,

I can't say thanks enough,

So here is where I end my poem,

Without you it woulda been rough!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers, Grandmothers, Great-Grandmothers, Aunts and everyone else.

Enjoy your day and make sure someone else does all the work for you (easy for me to say living out here).

Some Mother's Day Facts (from Wikipedia):

• Has several origins
• The US origin came about after the Civil war with the Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe.
• It took 38 years for the first Mother's Day to be officially celebrated in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia.
• First (American) National Mother's day was in 1914.

More on Mother's Day later...

The Best Sports Movies...

It was rough trying to come up with something to write about for Sports on Saturday. I have stopped watching sports on TV (for two reasons: 1. I don't have the time and 2. They're just not that exciting to watch right now). I recently counted down my top ten favourite children's books, so I thought I could do the same with sports movies. I just came up with this idea so I will take some time so that I think through my top 10 (I'm going to go with criteria for this I think and give points!). Until I get this done, I'll leave you with a couple of lists of top sports movies from:

IMDb

Rotten Tomatoes

Perhaps you can send me in suggestions of what I COULD include in my list. I'll do what I can, as I may or may not remember all the sports movies I've seen.

Enjoy!

Nutritional Data Revisited

A few weeks ago I talked about a site that gives you nutritional data for many different foods. I came across an article this week that was related.

Apparently, a Canadian researcher has found that some foods have more fat than some of their labels suggest. Read the article from CBC here. The researcher, Bruce Holub, has found that 15% of the foods he tested had more than the legal limit (the limit being based on what is printed on the packages). Though no brands were identified by Holub, the article says that frozen fish sticks and frozen waffles were the biggest offenders.

It seems as if this controversy comes from pre-packed food. Personally I would not be surprised to find out that the labels were innacurate. That's why I try (sometimes I'm not strong enough) to avoid prepackaged food. It's not really all that healthy for you (especially frozen fish sticks and frozen waffles), and it's more expensive (though organic food is pretty pricey too).

I'm not really sure the point I'm trying to make with this post. I guess I'm trying to make you aware of the possibility that nutrition labels might not always be accurate (the law allows for a 20% variation from the label - which is pretty large if you think about it). Always be mindful of what you eat though and don't always trust the label!

Pimping Your Firefox Part VII: Getting Rid of Pesky Ads

Ever go to a website that's full of ads? Wish you could just make them disappear? Well, you can with Adblock Plus (if you use Firefox that is!).

Adblock Plus is an extension for firefox that allows you to block any elements of a page. Once you install it from the mozilla page (the last link), all you need to do is right click on an ad and select "adblock image." That ad will no longer appear in your browser. It's that easy.

One caveat though. Some websites and ads are pretty smart and frequently change things about their ads so that they will be shown. This can often be annoying because you may have to re-block the specific ads.

It's definitely worth a shot and really helps get rid of all that unwanted information that gets thrown at you on the web.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to ask them on here or email me at pieceofdust@gmail.com

Sunbird: The Firefox of Calendars

In continuing my look at Open Source Software that I find to be useful (and in many cases I can't live without), I've decided to talk about Mozilla Sunbird, a neat calendar you can get for your computer.

I first got it a while ago and didn't really start using it, but when I started my most recent practicum (the one I'm doing right now and the one that is making it harder for me to keep the posts at a high level of quality) I started using it much more. Teachers take note: this is a great way to make a day book. I have actually been using Sunbird to do all of my planning.

Some features that I find useful. You can make multiple calendars to put on the calendar. So what does this mean for you? You can make a calendar for Work, Home, School, etc. or for each of your family members, and each can be in a different colour. I have about 10 or 15 calendars for different aspects of my life and can click one or another off very easily.

The actual events that you put in the calendar have a lot of space to write a description (this is where I put my plans). I have barely begun to scratch the surface of what this program can do (and expect an updated version in a few months as well!).

Like Firefox, Sunbird can also be customized and is starting to get a nice assortment of extensions and themes. The pickings are slim right now, but once Sunbird goes through more development there will likely be a lot of enhancements.

Read more about it at Wikipedia if you're interested.

Problem of the Day: Part VII

As promised, here is a second set of problems for this week (after the set I gave you on Tuesday - which are still open to anyone who wants to try). I have still yet to figure out a prize, but there will be many opportunities to get back in the game sooner rather than later. I may set it up so that getting a certain amount of points entitles you to a prize. That may get more people answering.

I have found a more reliable source of problems so I will be using those. Here are a few "riddles" today. As always, I have certain answers in mind, but other answers will be considered on a case by case basis.

1. What occurs once in every minute, twice in every moment, but never in a thousand years?
2. A man is out for a walk when it began to rain. The man had no umbrella and no hat. His clothes were soaked, but not a single hair on his head got wet. How is this possible?
3. What is one thing that all wise men, regardless of their religion or politics, agree is between heaven and earth?

Each question is worth one point.

Good luck!

As always, send your answers to pieceofdust@gmail.com.

Photo Feature: Take the Bus!

Gas prices in Victoria B.C. on May 10th, 2007 (taken by Michael Davidson)

If you have any pictures you would like to submit, please email them to pieceofdust@gmail.com. I have very few pictures lined up for these and would like to have more than one a week - they don't have to be nature related, but just interesting pictures.

Reducing the Impact of Plastic Bags

Ever since I wrote my list of things you can do to help the environment, I've wanted to follow it up with some in depth looks at a few of the ideas. Until now I have been a bit busy to do so, but an article I saw on Yahoo! News today prompted me to get writing.

As you may have guessed from the title, I'm going to talk about plastic bags - the ones you get whenever you go buy something at a store.

So what's the problem with plastic bags? Well, they're made from plastic for starters. Why is that bad? Plastics come from oil, and oil extraction creates many problems for the environment and for the people who happen to live in oil-rich countries. Oil is a non-renewable resource so using plastic bags reduces our oil supply. Plastic bags also take a long time to decompose. There are a few other hazards related to plastic bags, but the above two are the main reasons.

There are at least three options to help solve (or reduce) the problem:

1) Banning plastic bags: San Fransisco became the first city in North America to ban the bags and bans have followed in several cities, including Leaf Rapids, Manitoba. Other cities, like Tofino in BC have looked into a plastic bag tax. As seen in the above article, Ontario is making strides to reduce the number of plastic bags used in the province.

2) Personal choices: You can (or a business can) decide not to use plastic bags. I have not used a plastic bag in months and I have even been reusing my plastic bags for bulk things. A simple solution is to bring a cloth bag (or old plastic bags) to the grocery store and just tell the clerk you have your own bag (they like that because they usually don't have to bag the items!). Many stores, like Mountain Equipment Co-Op, Peppers Foods (in Victoria, B.C.) and Sainsbury's (a grocery store in the UK) have started using biodegradable bags (seel more on that below). Another approach stores can make is to start charging for plastic bags or to take money off of purchases if patrons use their own bags. These are all effective ways of encouraging environmentally friendly choices.

3) Biodegradable bags: As mentioned above, some stores have made the switch to biodegradable bags (that can just be thrown into the compost). For more information on these, check out Bio Bag. There site contains some good information on the bags the company makes.

So as you can see there are already many choices to dealing with plastic bags. Do what you can. Perhaps where you live, you can save money by not using plastic bags. Give it a try. You'll be doing a small part to help the environment. If enough people make the switch it makes a big difference!

Photo Feature: Halifax Harbour

Some boats in the Halifax Harbout (taken by Heather Davidson).

If you have any pictures you would like to submit, please email them to pieceofdust@gmail.com

Problem of the Day Part VI

Ok, so I'll admit I forgot last week and then it got closer to today so I waited a while. But I have some new stuff for you today.

First, the answers from two weeks ago:

Arrive on Time
Tricycle
Robin Hood
Three Degrees Below Zero (no one got this one)
Hi Ho Silver

Both Heather D and Carly G got 4 out of 5 and their points have been updated.

This weeks problems are fairly difficult and require a knowledge of the English language:

1. What is the longest word in the English language that has only one vowel? 2 points
2. Give as many examples as you can of words that don't have any of the traditional vowels (a, e, i, o u). One catch: they have to have at least 6 letters in the words. 1 point for each word
3. What word in the English language has 9 o's and 6 c's? 3 points

Good luck in your search!

Please email your responses to pieceofdust@gmail.com! Answers are due Monday May 14th at 11:59pm.

Since I missed last week I plan on giving another set of questions on Thursday. Keep your eye open for them.

Countdown of My Favourite Children's Books: #1

We've finally reached number one on my list after 4 long weeks, you finall get to know what my all-time favourite children's book is. Before we begin, here is a recap of the last four posts I've done: week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4.

A quick recap of the first nine:

10. The Berenstain Bears Series
9. Where the Wild Things Are
8. Matthew's Midnight Adventures
7. Princess Smartypants
6. Love You Forever
5. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
4. Oh, The Places You'll Go!
3. The Paper Bag Princess
2. The Lorax

1. The Eleventh Hour (Graeme Base): I said last week that it was my analytical mind that this is the number one book and anyone who has read this will understand why. The Eleventh Hour (note: this link contains a spolier!) is about Horace (an Elephant) who plans his 11th Birthday Party (on November the 11th no less). Eleven guests are invited to eat eleven dishes of food and play eleven games. The story focuses on this party but with a twist. At the end of the story, the big feast is stolen. No one knows who it is, but the book goes on to tell you that there are clues hidden throughout the book (and boy are there clues!). The first time I read this book I was in grade 5 and our class tried feverishly to figure out who did it (don't worry I won't spoil the fun). Recently I bought a copy of the book so that I could look through the pictures for the clues. Even as an adult (and I knew who did it) I had fun looking through the pages.

The pictures are amazing (as anyone who has seen Graeme Base's work - including Animalia, The Sign of the Seahorse, and many others - will know). I have fond memories of this book and it is one of the few I actually remember vividly reading when I was younger (though no doubt there are many I read over and over). For more information on Greame Base, check his website.

I hope this list has been enjoyable. Feel free to comment on your favourite books from your childhood. I will be adding some honourable mentions next week of books I enjoy and had a hard time not adding to this list.

Movie Review: Frequency

I bought Frequency a couple of weeks ago at HMV for really cheap. It was one of those movies I had seen a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised by it. Let me first state that even though some may label this as Sci-fi, it most definitely is not and would better be filed under fantasy. Why do I make that distinction? Well, the biggest beef I have with this movie is that it causes several problems with time travel (though there isn't really any time travel in the movie)... Anyway.

The movie centers around a father and a son, 30 years apart. The father (Dennis Quaid) died in a fire in 1969 while his son (James Caviezel) is living in 1999. The two become connected by an old radio which apparently can talk through time because of the northern lights over New York city (this I don't have as much problem with as the later lack of logic in the world). The son gives the father advice and saves him from his accident in the fire. This sets off a chain of events which leads to his mother being murdered by a serial killer (though far-fetched, it seems somewhat believable - kind of like all the alternate realities of The Butterfly Effect). The movie follows the father-son duo as they try to save the woman they both love (one as a son!) across the bridge of time. My issue with the movie is that every time something changes in the past, the changes in the future happen, but the son is still the same person and the connection was there all along. If the original changes happened, there was the chance the son in the future would have been a different person (I think losing your father at 6 years old might do that to you), but surprisingly he is the same person.

The time travel issues aside, I think this is a very entertaining movie and definitely worth a watch. Not the best made film, but entertainment that delivers. I give this a 3/5. Pretty Good.

I swear I'll do something other than a movie review soon. It takes a lot longer to read a book!

Movie Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I have been recently trying to view the movies that are typically viewed as classics and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is apparently one of those movies. This movie was definitely not the best movie I've seen, but it had it's good qualities and is better than most of the Hollywood garbage we get these days (though I have seen many excellent movies made in the last few years).

The moviel, which won Best Picture in the 1976 Oscars, centers around Randall Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) who finds himself in a mental institution because he has been causing trouble in Jail. He is left in the ward under observation and his response is to try to stir things up with the patients. He does quite a good job and the orderly ward turns into a chaotic ward.

The acting is superb and I was surprised to find that many great actors started their careers in this film, including Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd and Brad Dourif. Everyone is convincing as mental patients, though some of the guards do some questionable actions. There are also some compelling characters (Will Sampson as Chief comes to mind).

As one watches this movie, you start to try to figure out if McMurphy is in fact crazy or if he's just causing trouble. I never came to any conclusions myself by the time the movie ended.

I liked the movie though I found it somewhat disturbing at points. I would recommend it to all just because it has garnered so much praise. I give it a 4/5. Good, but not great.

The Federal Government Ought To Pick It's Battles

I'm sure I'm not the only person baffled by the Shane Doan controversy that has heated up in the last week. For those of you who have managed to avoid this waste of government and media time, Shane Doan is a hockey player who has been appointed captain of Canada's team at the World Hockey Championships in Russia. The controversy stems from alleged racials slurs (directed towards our Francophone countrymen) in a game in 2005. Doan was cleared by the NHL and the issue was dead... until recently when some politicians decided to make a big fuss over it and bring Hockey Canada members before the government to explain their choice of Doan as captain of this years team.

Besides the obvious waste of time (I think the issue of Afghanistan and the new information about the Air India incident might be a more pressing need right now), this makes absolutely no sense. Did the politicians make this much stink when they named Doan to the 2006 Olympic team? And what about Todd Bertuzzi (there, I did it, I mentioned the name of two people who shouldn't get attention today) being named to the Olympic squad? Did he not maliciously attack someone on the ice, in front of cameras? Surely the government would not want 'Bert' to represent our country...

I'm at a loss at this point. I, like many others, think that this whole dialogue has been an exercise just to get votes. I'm not sure if anything has been accomplished...

Paris Hilton Headed To Jail

Normally I would not draw attention to someone who seemingly lives for it, but this news is just too funny not to mention. It appears that Paris Hilton is headed to Jail for 45 days and will not have any other options. Too bad that they said she would not be kept with other inmates... still a funny bit of news that I thought I would share (just in case you didn't hear it already).

Globe and Mail

CBC

Yahoo!

Alright, that's enough gossip for one day. Sorry to give more attention to someone who has done absolutely nothing to deserve it.

Inclusively Coaching Children

This has been something that has been on my mind the last few weeks and days and I thought I would share my musings on the subject of coaching children.

It is my opinion that coaching of children should be as inclusive as possible. Everyone should be given chances, no matter how good they are at a sport or any athletic skill. I have often seen otherwise and it saddens me. I have never been that athletically talented (though I will admit I do have some talent), and I often lose opportunities because I am not as good as others. I feel that a focus on working hard would be good for children whether they intend to continue in a sport or not. I think the lessons they can learn from working hard (that hard work = results) can be transferred to anything a child does in life.

There will be those who say to this: "Well, competition is part of life, they will have to deal with it sooner or later." A valid point, and one that is not easy to argue. But I still will. I am not saying give children everything without working. I am saying that you should allow them to try. I'm in track and often I see coaches picking track teams based on how fast a child runs 100m. My issue with this is that many of these children have never been given a chance to work on their speed or may just be missing the genes they need to be fast. By picking a team based on this inherent ability you are basically saying to a child they are not good enough based on something that they have little control over. I say you give them that chance. Let them practice with the team, give them opportunities to improve, and THEN pick the team. This way students are faced with the reality of the world, but they are given a chance to earn something. Nothing is free.

Following this point, I have also noticed that the children who need to be active the most are the ones who will be left unpicked for teams. This makes absolutely no sense, and any way I can think of. For starters, the goal of children's sports (at least in my mind) is to help encourage children to lead an active lifestyle. The ones who are good to begin with are likely already leading an active lifestyle.

This also makes no sense if you are concerned about the quality of the team you have. The biggest moment for many children is just to make the team. If the athletically giften children make a team right away with no worry of being cut, then why should they train hard?

I once had a cross country coach in highschool that followed this philosophy. It was no coincidence that I am still running. When I first showed up in grade 9 I was a nobody. I had never tried running before but had been convinced by a friend to try out. Well I stuck with it and all these years later I am still in the sport while many of my peers (who were better than me at the time) have long since stopped running. I am not the fastest runner in the world, but I have done quite well for myself. For those of you who know me, imagine me had I not been encouraged to try and to make a team in the future, being given opportunities to better myself. I took the challenge and in the end I rose to the occasion. I worked hard and earned my way on every team I have made.

For those of you coaching children I encourage you to do the same. Give those kids who don't seem the best athletes a chance. Who knows, you might be featured on TV when that child grows up and competes for their country...

End of the Season

Last night the Toronto Raptors lost a heartbreaker to the New Jersey Nets to end their season. The game was hard fought until the dying seconds when a pass was intercepted to prevent Toronto a chance to win the game. They lost their first round playoff series 4-2. This was certainly the most entertaining basketball game I have seen in a long while, and the only thing that could have made it better was to see Toronto win. Certainly both teams played hard enough to win, but unfortunately only one could have.

Still, the game suggests that next year will be a much better season, after already making huge strides this year. For starters, the Raptors fought hard when it mattered. They went out scratching and clawing right to the end. They must be commended for that. A second sign of hope is the young age of their stars. All of them are still improving and none of them are leaving at the end of the season. Certainly what they went through last night can only help them in future playoff series next year.

So, thanks to the Raptors for giving us all something to cheer for and to look forward to next year. I know I'll be watching.

The Future of Farming

Most of my readers have probably noticed a lack of quality posts lately. That's because I am getting very busy with school right now. I apologize for that and hopefully I can get on top of my posts in the next week.

I didn't want to go a whole day without posting so I will share with you an interesting web site I have had in my favourites for a while now. The website suggests a potential solution to our food production woes (or more specifically, the woes that are likely to come in the next 50 years). That solution is to farm vertically (in human-made structures). Anyway, I think the site is an interesting read. Check it out if you're interested: The Vertical Farm Project.

Perhaps in a few weeks time I will look at the site in depth and give a better post about it. Until next time...

Pimping Your Firefox Part VI: More Buttons

Ever feel like you use your menu bar too much? Wish you could have more buttons? I have the extension for you: Firefox Menu Buttons

Download this extension from the link above. After you do that, right click on the navigation toolbaar (the one with the address bar in it) and click on "customize". Just drag and drop the buttons you want. I use the following on my toolbar: Favourites, Add a Tab, Add a Favourite and Find (a great feature that lets you search for text on a web page - useful if you're trying to find someone's name in a long list of race results). There are many more available with this extension and I'm sure you'll find something useful.

As always, if you have questions post them here and I'll try to answer them.

Clearing Up The Climate Debate Smog

I wanted to highlight another blog today. There is actually a funny story behind this blog and how I discovered it. I was in the grocery store a month or two ago and saw someone wearing a jacket with this web address on the back of it. It's name caught my attention so I decided to check it out. You can follow my discovery by checking out DeSmogBlog.com.

It actually took me a while to figure out what side of the climate change debate this blog was on. It was not long, however, until I found this explanation on the site:

DeSmogBlog exists to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science on climate change.

An overwhelming majority of the world’s climate scientists agree that the globe is warming - the world's climate is changing - and that the indiscriminate burning of fossil fuels is to blame. We know that the risks are incalculable and, increasingly, we understand that the solutions are affordable.

Unfortunately, a well-funded and highly organized public relations campaign is poisoning the climate change debate. Using tricks and stunts that unsavory PR firms invented for the tobacco lobby, energy-industry contrarians are trying to confuse the public, to forestall individual and political actions that might cut into exorbitant coal, oil and gas industry profits. DeSmogBlog is here to cry foul - to shine the light on techniques and tactics that reflect badly on the PR industry and are, ultimately, bad for the planet.

So basically, they are here to counter the points of the scientists who refute global warming. I have checked this blog out occasionally over the past few weeks and months and have found some interesting things in it.

Check it out if you're interested...

Photo Feature: The Sun Through A Tree

The sun shining through a tree on a street in Victoria, BC (taken by Michael Davidson)


If you have any pictures you would like to submit, please email them to pieceofdust@gmail.com

Countdown of My Favourite Children's Books: #2

We're still on our way to number one in my countdown of my favourite children's books. Check here for week 1, week 2 and week 3.

Here's a quicker recap of the first 8 books:

10. The Berenstain Bears Series
9. Where the Wild Things Are
8. Matthew's Midnight Adventures
7. Princess Smartypants
6. Love You Forever
5. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
4. Oh, The Places You'll Go!
3. The Paper Bag Princess

2. The Lorax (Dr. Seuss): Another Dr. Seuss book that I didn't read until I was much older (I was actually reminded of one that I read a lot when I was young, but unfortunately that did not make the list), and a book that I read to my class just yesterday. I think this is more than a good book; it's an important book. First published in 1971, this book rings true today. For those of you who have not read the book, I suggest you do (I can't imagine a public library that does not have this book), and so I will not explain the plot, other than to say it is about our treatment of the planet. I have used it twice already to teach students about the environment and I plan on using it many times in the future. This book would have been number one on my list were it not for my analytical mind (a clue! (which itself is a clue!)) and some fond childhood memories. The Lorax is probably the only book on this list that I think ALL children should be read. It's message is too important to be forgotten or ignored.

Tune in next week to find out what the #1 book on my list is (and if you know what it is, please don't post it, as I know many of my readers are waiting in anticipation!).

A Little Poem

At my school I am teaching my class poetry. This week I introduced Limericks and wrote some examples for them. Here is one that got a rise out of the class (remember, I teach in Victoria, BC):

There's a team that we call the Canucks
Who just happen to be playing the Ducks
They struggle to score
Their games are a bore
Soon they'll be golfing and saying “Aw shucks!”

I told them they could write responses to this, so I may post any if they write good ones.

Do you have any responses to this? Please post your responses in a comment.

Movie Review: World Trade Center

Normally I wouldn't watch a movie like this, especially since there are so many angles to the subject that are often used to advance a cause or start a war. I will admit that I was curious. It's one of those things that you think might be filled with fluff but you wonder if it might actually be good.

Surprisingly I found that the filmmakers of World Trade Center did a very good job in some aspects of their film. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know what this movie is about, and even if you don't quite know the specifics you know what is happening, just like in Titanic. That's the mindframe I went in with: I know it's going to happen. As prepared as I was to see it (as depicted by Hollywood), the film really captures the confusion and horror of the moments when no one really knew what was going on (and no one was using that confusion and horror to further their own causes).

The film tells the true story of John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena), two Port Authority Police Officers who were trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center after the first tower collapsed.

The bewilderment of many of the characters is very evident they are fully believable (and there are moments when you say to yourself that probably actually happened). The movie does drag on for a while and seems to be going nowhere, especially since the outcome is never really in doubt.

The last half aside, this movie definitely does what (I thought) it was supposed to do, and that is to remind us of the impact that morning had on all of us. I know I remember where I was when I found out and I bet you do too. I think that with all the political fallout and what has happened since that day, it is important to look back on when we were innocent. This movie does just that.

I give this movie 3.5/5. Though I did talk very good about it, it dragged on and seemed to be a very patriotic movie. I thought that took away from the message that was trying to get out.

Though I was wondering about this movie, I am not curious to see United 93, so you're gonna have to read a review of that somewhere else.