Tomorrow's Just Your Future Yesterday

"It's a great day for America!"

"Welcome back my cheeky little monkeys!"

"My frisky badgers!"

"Remind you of anyone?"

"Oprah’s announced that she’s quitting her show in 2011. Now you know why the Mayans ended their calendar in 2012. Once Oprah leaves her show, the most powerful woman on TV will be Ryan Seacrest. There was also news about Dr. Phil’s show: Unfortunately, he’s going to keep going."

 - Craig Ferguson

First off, let me apologize. It has been way too long since I have posted anything here. So much for my new year's resolution...yikes. But what better way to get back at it again than with a post about one of my idols - the one and only Craig Ferguson, or as he sometimes calls himself, "the Scottish Conan guy." I love this guy so much - I find him so incredibly funny and entertaining - but I have also chosen to write about him today because I am actually going to see him do a stand-up show tomorrow evening at the River Rock casino in Richmond!

For those of you who don't know, Craig Ferguson is a Scottish-born comedian who hosts a late night talk show on CBS called The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Prior to this he played Drew Carey's boss, Nigel Wick, on The Drew Carey Show, and he has also written and starred in several films.

I began watching The Late Late Show a few short years ago, and stumbled across his show while watching tv late at night (his show only starts at 12:35am PT). Since then I've watched on a fairly regular basis, often watching clips that people have uploaded onto youtube the day after its aired on television. These users often post the entire show in several segments, and if you're interested, the user that I always rely on is Malinky2Stoatir.

The main reason that I love this man and his show so much is not just for his jokes about the news, celebrities, bodily functions, his own sexual preference, CBS, the lighting (or lack thereof) on his show, or his self-deprecating sense of humor in general, but the fact that he is honest and genuinely seems to be having a great time while doing the show. He is not afraid to laugh at himself, even when he does mess up a joke; and every now and again he actually has to pause for a moment because he has made himself laugh so hard. 

Anyways, to give you a bit of an idea of what I mean, check out these two clips. The first is from the intro he gives at the beginning of each show (before the titles and monologue), and in this specific clip, from last Friday's show, he actually mentions that he is coming to Canada and to 'tropical' Vancouver!




This clip, also from last Friday's show, will give you an idea of what his monologues are usually like:




Anyways, I'm really excited about seeing him perform live. It will be interesting to compare his stand-up to his usual performance on The Late Late Show (which is of course on public television). I will definitely post my thoughts after I've seen the show, and hopefully I will blog on a more regular basis as well.

Happy New Year!

2010 has begun! I hope it is going well for everyone so far. The first two days of the year have been pretty fantastic: spent in the company of family and (mostly) old friends. I got the chance on New Year's Day to jam with my old band after nearly two years, which brought back many great memories. I used to spend many weekends making music with those guys; from the end of Grade 10 right up until the beginning of my second year at university. It will always remain a big part of my life.

I also just got back from a rather belated birthday celebration for another good friend, who I first met in first year. Over the years we've kept in touch - going out for dinners, or 'date nights', having lunch together on a regular basis during some semesters, potlucks etc - and it is amazing to look back on where we've begun and where we are now, doing completely different things but still being able to get together and always have a great time. After most people had left, four of us sat drinking tea and discussing the environment, society, democracy, religion, and memes (which I learned about for the first time tonight - it's mind-blowing!). What a great start to the year!

Anyways, before another busy semester starts, I just want to collect my thoughts and record some of my resolutions for this year, as well as some quotes to keep in mind. Here they are:

1. "I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell" (1 Corinthians 13:1)

I have to work at being better at loving the world, and everyone in it. I also need to be aware that my words and actions have consequences on other people.

2. "One who bears hate for no creature
is friendly, compassionate, unselfish,
free of individuality, patient,
the same in suffering and joy"
(Bhagavad-Gita 12:13)


Something else I need to work on is being more selfless. This ties into my first resolution, in that it means that I need to be better at accepting people for who they are.


3. "Verily, with every difficulty
There is relief"
(The Holy Qur'an 94:6).

I also need to curb my tendency to over-worry and over-analyze things. And finally,

4. "Thou shalt blog on a more frequent basis"
(The Bloggers Bible, 26:01)

Ok, I made that last one up...but I will try to blog more frequently! At least once a week.

So that's what I've got so far. We were talking about resolutions tonight at my friend's celebration, and I realize that these are all pretty intangible, and therefore may be hard to achieve, or at least hard to always follow or even measure one's success. So I need to think of more tangible, achievable goals that correspond to these ambitions.

More on that later.

Reality Check

"What do I owe you! You taught me a lesson, hard indeed at first, but most advantageous. By you I was properly humbled”

 - Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)

The past two weeks have been nuts with having to write a research paper for my Indian mythology class and write final exams. But it is all over! I handed in my paper and had my last exam on Saturday, and am now back at home relaxing and enjoying the holiday. Although it was overwhelming towards the end, it has been a great semester. I’ve read a lot, encountered many new perspectives about the world and beyond, and been challenged in many ways.

But while my head has been up in the clouds thinking about gender/sexual issues in literature, devotional Hinduism, and all sorts of philosophies and ideologies, I’ve been missing some very real aspects of myself that could use some improvement. It took a special person to point this out to me, and to show me how blind I have been in many ways. I have realized how flawed I am in certain areas of my life, and how these areas could most definitely be worked on (New Year’s Resolution?). I’ve also realized that I have to be careful not to be trapped in ideologies or philosophies while ignoring the realities and experiences of real-life.

And so, in light of this experience, I thought this quote was most suitable. It is taken from Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice, which I read over the Christmas break four years ago. These words are spoken by Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennet, who admits that he has been self-righteous, but has learnt his lesson.

Time for me to learn mine.

Hell...

Hee hee hee....

Ok, so it's been way to long since I've written on here. The past two weeks since my last blog post have been really busy with classes coming to an end, and having final assignments and papers to write. Perhaps it is rather fitting that this post is titled "Hell..."!!

The real reason I chose this title is because of a great quote I found several days ago. While I was doing research for my paper on James Joyce's Ulysses (for my British-Irish studies class) I came across a book of mythologist Joseph Campbell's writings on the works of James Joyce. Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) wrote extensively on comparative mythology and religion, and since I was researching religious motifs in Ulysses (of which there are no shortage) his book was very helpful. Anyways, while scouring through the book to find info relevant to my paper, I also found this really fascinating quote about hell:

"Hell is the state of a soul that is absolutely committed to its earthly experiences, fixed (as it were) in their time-space aspects, without recognizing through these experiences the radiance of the divine dimension. Hell is simply the experience of your limitations, to which you are so firmly committed that nothing can break them. No one can show you the divine dimension of life that transcends your experiences"

- Mythic Worlds, Modern Words: Joseph Campbell on the Art of James Joyce

I find this description of hell as the state of being 'limited' to earthly, time-space experiences, really fascinating and thought-provoking. The idea of hell as a state of mind, or "state of a soul", is really intriguing. Perhaps this definition could also fit into the Judeo-Christian notions of heaven and hell. Even if one believes that heaven is a sort of spiritual 'place' or 'existence' then perhaps hell is not an equivalently 'evil' spiritual place or existence but instead, as Campbell says, being limited to earthly experiences and not being able to move beyond these limitations. Then again, 'heaven' could be regarded as moving beyond, or 'transcending' these limits; a sort of 'enlightenment'...or nirvana. Hmmm...

Rain...and my article on 'Leave Them Laughing'

"Looking out the door
I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations
As their shoes fill up with water"

 - 'Lover You Should've Come Over' by Jeff Buckley


So it's been pouring rain here in Vancouver for a good solid week and a half. We've had a few dry spots here and there, but overall it's just been rain, rain, rain. And it is definitely getting to me. I've been feeling gloomy. I mean, not only does it get dark early in the winter, but with the rain and cloud cover it gets darker even earlier. So if the sun could just pop out it's head and say "hello", that would be nice. You'd think I'd be used to it by now - I've been living here for over 5 years now - but every winter it never fails to get to me. And then there are the joys of waiting for buses in the rain, getting soaked, and stepping in all of the unavoidable and massive puddles on campus...

So I wanted to post some great literature quote about rain but I couldn't think of any off the top of my head (although I do have a great quote about snow - just wait until the first snow fall!). All I could think of were the opening lines to "Lover You Should've Come Over" by Jeff Buckley. Anyways, it is an amazing song and these words do paint a very vivid picture. I know my last post was about Jeff Buckley, but he is just so awesome that I can't get enough of him.

Also, I had promised last week that I would post my finished article about Canadian director John Zaritsky and his new movie Leave Them Laughing. It was published in the Ubyssey this past Monday. Here is the link to the article on the Ubyssey website:  http://ubyssey.ca/culture/?p=11054

Hope you like it!

Happy Birthday to the late Jeff Buckley

And I feel them drown my name

So easy to go and forget with this kiss

I'm not afraid to go but it goes so slow...

 - Grace by Jeff Buckley

On this day in 1966 an amazing musician entered the world. Jeff Buckley, one of my music idols, was a talented guitarist and singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice and remarkable vocal range. He passed away long before his time, in a drowning accident on the evening of May 27, 1997. He had been swimming in the Wolf River (off of the Mississipi), singing 'Whole Lotta Love' by Led Zepellin, while one of his roadies remained on shore. The roadie turned to move their radio out of reach of the water, and when he looked back Jeff was gone. A couple of days later his body was found. The autopsy showed no signs of drug or alcohol use - it was merely a tragic accident. What a way to go.

He had only released one complete studio album, Grace, and at the time of his death he was working on a new record titled My Sweetheart the Drunk . Grace was a critical success and highly regarded by other musicians, and this legacy continues today. I stumbled across this album because my brother's drum teacher had given it to him to listen to, and once I started listening I was completely blown away. It is one of my all-time favourite albums, and I would definitely include this in my 'desert-island' collection...it is so brilliant that I would say that if I had to choose only one album that I could listen to for the rest of my life, this might just be it (although Dark Side of the Moon and OK Computer  would be close...).

Ok, I could go on and on describing how much I love him and how beautiful his lyrics and music are (maybe one day I'll write a much longer post about him...), but instead I'll let you check out this video of Jeff and his band performing 'So Real' and 'Last Goodbye', two tracks from Grace. This live and acoustic version is really stripped down, showcasing just how versatile and beautiful his voice is, especially when he yells passionately at the end of 'So Real' (around 3:47 and after). Here it is:

John Zaritsky and "Leave Them Laughing"

Today I had the pleasure of interviewing an award-winning Canadian documentary director named John Zaritsky. I am writing an article about John's latest documentary, Leave Them Laughing, for the Ubyssey, the official campus newspaper. Leave Them Laughing, a documentary that looks at the lighter side of death, is going to be given a test screening by the UBC Film Society one week from now on November 23rd.

Leave Them Laughing is a "musical comedy about dying", documenting the story of Carla Zilbersmith, a Californian-Canadian singer and comedienne who was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease, or ALS, and given a year to live. I was fortunate enough to get a copy of the film from the director himself before doing the interview, and I found that the documentary he has created is a hilarious, deeply moving and thought-provoking film about a woman coming to terms with her own mortality. The film is based on a blog that Carla has been writing for some time (carlamuses.blogspot.com), and features Carla narrating her jokes and insights on life and death. 

This film depicts Carla's feisty personality and humour, but is also very real in showing the serious effects this disease has on her life and on her family - specifically her son Maclen and father Jack. Overall, it is a postive film about an amazing woman and her determination to leave this world laughing. 

When I met with director John Zaritsky today we talked about the bond he forged with Carla, and the reality that this movie depicts: that any adversity can be overcome with a little humour and a positive attitude. 

Here is the trailer for the film: 

Also, here is an interview John Zaritsky did with George Strouboulopoulos on CBC's The Hour, talking about his previous documentary The Suicide Tourist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeZvM34H5so

I'll be sure to post my article when I'm finished writing it!