A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul
John Ralston Saul’s new book, a Fair Country, lays out a new framework for thinking about Canada. It makes the strong argument that our country has much more aboriginal spirit in it than we might think. The typical approach of analysing Canadian life along the French-English axis misses the third pillar, aboriginal culture.
With countries like England, France, and Germany undergoing an identity crisis, this book brings a breath or relief and a new way of looking at our own national identity. Saul argues that the european nations are built around monolithic cultures while Canada does not hesitate to embrace its diversity and does not insist on suppressing it as was done with Gaelic culture, Bretagne, Basque, and other European minorities. By adding aboriginal philosophy in our image of Canada, we see how and why we are different from the US and Europe. All Canadians should take a look at his ideas and reflect on their implications for the Canadian spirit.
A globe and mail review pretty much summarizes my feelings about the book, so I will let them speak for me.
Review Giacomo sur les planchesCritique Giacomo sur les planches
The one man act entitled “Giacomo sur les planches”, playing in Paris is well worth the ticket price. The actor Giacomo plays out his childhood and first love affair with theatre. He jumps from one character to another, his friends, parents and neighbours bringing well over 20 unique personalities to life. Each character is unique and distinct – his seamless transition between them is stunning. This play is highly recommended and for the reasonable price of 14 euros it beats any movie out there.
Buy tickets here at a reduction.
More info here.«Giacomo sur les planches», une petite production d’un one man show qui vaut largement le prix du billet d’entrée. L’acteur nous présente son enfance dans une banlieue de Paris, entouré d’immigrés — italiens, arabes, grecs. Mais l’histoire tourne surtout autour de son premier coup de foudre avec le théâtre. Sa performance d’acteur est impressionnante : il joue à lui seul plus de vingt personnages différents, qu’il incarne parfaitement, rendant chacun unique et mémorable. Sa transition entre ses différents amis et membres de sa famille de son enfance est remarquable. Je vous recommande fortement d’aller voire cette petite pièce.
Achetez vos billets à réduction ici.
Published on December 8, 2009St. Petersburg, Russia
Russia is big, really big. My brother, girlfriend and I recently to travelled from west to east on the Trans-Siberian railway. Our trip began in St. Petersburg, a very European city, built on the marshes of the North sea by slave labour. The city was once the capital or Russia and French was spoken at all the royal courts. Today, no one speaks anything but Russian.
The Hermitage Museum is the city’s main attraction; one of the largest museums in the world, it offers truly stupendous works of art. In my opinion, The Hermitage is the most impressive museum I have ever seen, the density of priceless art is unparalleled. The building itself is a work of, sometimes overly excessive, art – it was the former palace of the Tsar. While the art is amazing, it is also a testament to the excesses of the Russian royalty who amassed amazing collections while their people starved in the cold winter.
Reaching the St. Petersburg metro, dug deep underground to avoid the numerous canals, requires an impressive five-minute escalator ride to reach. Once arrived, the beauty of the stations is astounding. The Soviets built gorgeous metro stations with chandeliers, marble walls and vaulted ceilings.
After you see their metro, it is clear our public spaces have been done on the cheap. Too often in capitalist societies we only look at the financial costs and forget the emotional impact beautiful spaces can have. The few public venues we accord money to – museums and concert halls are the haunts of the rich while our basic metros, bus stations and streets are used by all citizens. In a democratic society we should provide beauty democratically. A system that transports millions of people everyday should be built to not only transport the body, but also the mind and the heart.
Published on November 29, 2009Mongolian Photos
Just put up some photos from my trip – Russia and Mongolia, click here to see them. More to come.
Published on October 28, 2009No Facebook in China
Just a quick note to say I am now in Beijing, no Facebook here so send me an email if you need to reach me.
Published on October 28, 2009