About Habs Riots...

My reactions on the comments posted on yahoo about the unfortunate events that followed the Montreal Canadiens' victory over Boston Bruins Monday night.

Quite frankly, I'm not surprised that these unfortunate events have been turned by many into a discrimination against the whole French Community. It's like that every bad behavior of a handful of stupid peasants is a good reason to categorize every single French Canadian as if they were all the same. Too easy. However, it shows clearly to everyone how the Quebec's people are perceived by a majority of English Canadians. This is not, it seems to me, a good motive to even include and associate the hockey team with these stupid rioters' actions. There are stupid people everywhere in this world. But I'm convinced that 96% of Canadians (of any culture) are good people.

When a soccer riot happen in Italy, Russia, or England, are we so quick to say that the whole Italian, Russian, or England people are all idiots and stupid? I don't think so. I wonder if someone can explain to me why every riot in Quebec is taken as a political motive to express hatred against Canadians of French culture? Is this common in the world or a particularity of Canada? Maybe. Furthermore, maybe the image that Canada convey to the world is more shown by the reaction to these riots than by the riots themselves? Following this reasoning, would it be suitable to cut all relations with a nation where stupid sport riots happen? Or put them on an Island and never speak with them again because they are all stupid? I think that all Canadians should reflect on this.

To see the comments, go on: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/nhl_experts/post/
Victorious-Montreal-fans-help-city-burn-off-exc?urn=nhl,78297&cp=1#comments

Waydowntown!

What can I write now? Inspiration does not come easily sometimes. Blog are like writing in the void when nobody answer them. Ok whatever... I went to see a movie this week to the Nickle Art Museum on the campus. First I didn't know that there was a projection every Thursday night at 6:30. And pretty good movie too (For people who are tired of most of Hollywood crap). The movie presented was Waydowntown, a film by Calgary filmmaker Gary Burns film in 2000 in downtown Calgary with digital camera and then transfered on 35mm film. A dark comedy very refreshing and original compared to comedy I'm used to watch. The plot is a bet between 4 friends working in professional offices (freshly out from university). They bet one month salary on the one who will last the longer without going outside at all for a whole month without going nut. The way the building are connected by glass walkways allows people to do that if they want. I wouldn't personally do that but it's very funny to watch and the actors are all credible.

Art and Entertainment

What is Art? I think real Art is the one done without any materialist motivations. For personal pleasure or to achieve something greater than oneself and which will help people know more about themselves and the universe. For me Art must make people vibrate; When a person gets chickenpox whether listening to a song, watching a movie, or contemplating a painting, Art is really acting. Painting: in our fast paced society, saturated with images of all kind, we never really let our eyes linger or meditate on a work of art more than a few seconds. In this era of visual fast-food consumption, it's easy to become a passive observer who look at images after images without getting really deep in its meaning. Art is something to be watch closely, in detail and in a almost meditative pace if someone wants to become critical and articulate about it. I think that art is a philosophic quest. The intention behind any art work is the most important criterion and define art by itself. What I'm trying to say is that if the main motif of an "artist" is to make money, then his work can't be art. Art must be concerned by a higher ideals. A never-ending quest toward the unknown. Similar to the philosopher who ask questions to the world with his or her writings, artists' songs, poetry, sculptures, paintings, or dances, are big ? put there to make people reflect on the meaning of their lives.

Maple Syrup

Where was I with that story? Ah yes! This juice is collected and boiled for hours and when it has evaporate until the consistence of maple syrup, it is then filtered and put into cans, bottles, etc. The temperature must be perfect; too much cooking and we end up with a thick liquid (like honey) which is not good for maple syrup; Too less and the result is too diluted, too clear, and not adequate. Today, the process of collecting the sap of the maple trees is mechanical; a network of plastic tubes are connected to each tree in the "Erabliere"(a field or forest of maple trees) and a pump draw all the sap into the Cabane a Sucre to be boiled. However, this procedure is not poetic at all. For me it is ugly because we literally suck the juice from the plant, which is more like vampires who suck the blood of their victims. On the contrary, when I was a kid, we used the traditional way to collect the sap which is putting "chaudieres"(recipient) hooked under the hole from where the sap drop by drop fill the recipient. The sap is just flowing when the temperature is above 0 degree Celsius and at night the trees stop dropping their juice. What was I saying... Oh yeah! We used horses and big oak barrels mounted on sleighs to collect the precious sap. And then, when then barrels were filled, we had to head back to the shack and empty them into big reservoirs. And over again until all the sap had been gathered. I have to say that it was a pretty hard labour, for us as well as for 2 the big horses that we had because in Quebec there is, in average , at least 1 meter-deep of snow everywhere in the forest. Even if we used leather snowshoes, our feet still were going deep down in the heavy snow and it was very excriciating for a 8 years old kid. Sometimes we even had to help our horses, because they were stucked in the snow as well. But even if it may sound like nightmare, these souvenirs form the best memories I had from my youth. After a hard day's work, all my brothers, my cousins, uncles, gathered in the cabane a sucre to eat the unbeatable food that our grandmother had cooked: crepes with real maple syrup, real pea soup, ham, cabage salad, potatoes, and tea to help digest this huge amount of food we ate. This was a real fest.
I also remember nights of boiling sap , sitting, chatting and listening to a Montreal Canadiens hockey game diffused on a battery radio. There was no electricity there, just wood and fire to keep us dry and warm. I wish you were there to really see what all this really mean to me but the only way I have is to write that story which just tip of the iceberg of my memory.

20 minutes blog

It's now the season of maple sugar in Quebec, the province where I was born. I'm kind of melancholic when I think about me growing up with that culture, and these adorable memories that I have from it. My granddad on my dad's side had a "cabane a sucre" which is the place where maple syrup is produced, and every spring from 0 to 12 years old I was at the "cabane a sucre" with my brothers, cousins, uncles and aunts, and my grand parents. I'll try to explain a little bit of the history that I know of the maple syrup production, how we harvest the juice from the trees, and how this is, it seems to me, a very rich tradition of the French-Canadian culture. First when our French ancestors came in America, they develop deep relationships with the native tribes who where living in Quebec and the south east part of Ontario. Among these tribes were the "Montagnais" and "Iroquois" and "Hurons" people which revealed the secret that the maple trees were holding to us French foreigners. During the spring (from about March to April) the juice of these trees is going up from the roots to the top of the branches.(which is the same for every kind of tree.) but one particular and unique quality of the maple tree juice or sap is that it is very sweet. Then during the spring, if you make a little incision in the bark of the tree, the sap will come out and we collect it to drink it or to boil it. Our ancestors owe to the native people this amazing discovery. To be continued....

Breakthroughs

Psychological Breakthrough: Dr. Ellen Jane Langer – 1982

In 1982, American Dr. Ellen Jane Langer was credited to have discovered the relation between thinking and having a longer, healthier, and more productive life. In her research, she demonstrated that more mentally active people were having a longer life expectancy. Her motive was to prove the direct relationship between low mental activity and the degeneration of elderly people. In doing so she offered hope to millions of people whose problem were previously seen as irreversible and inevitable such as senility or depression. By her work, numerous articles, and six academic books, she has exposed how the human limits were defined by our own minds. She is the author of Mindfulness and The Power of Mindful Learning. Dr. Langer is the first woman to become tenured in psychology at Harvard University. Did you know that just by having to take care of a plant, a pet or by staying mentally active, older people showed substantial improvement of their life quality and have a longer life?

Working

Dream Job

My dream job would be to win ten millions at 6/49 and spend the rest of my life studying, traveling, and meeting new people all year long. This is of course a total utopia and unlikely to happen but sometimes it is nice to dream... Now back to hard reality! My (realistic and possible) job would be one in which there would be individual recognition, doing a project from a to z, working with positive and friendly people, and with opportunities for advancement. In my opinion, these values are what make people really happy in their everyday work.

Quebec Decision-Making Style Sucks!

In Quebec, the decision-making system is mostly like the American one which is Top-Down decision-making process. The boss gathers in a boardroom with high level managers to discuss of a problem and take a decision on how to fix it. They can also discuss of a new process and how to implement it. When an agreement is achieve, the new rule is forced all the way down to the lower level of workers who carry it on with more or less enthusiasm. It is, I think, a very stupid way to manage a business because it's like a dictatorial regime. It doesn't really care about employees' ideas or feelings. Ruling by fear, doubt, and suspicion; that's what it is! For example, if a low-ranked worker have a great idea, he or she will most likely keep it for himself or herself for fear to get it stole by a superior who will take credit of the new idea. The Japanese style is way much better!

Chinese Gardens

The weekend that followed the EAP placement week, my friends Delia, Gabi, Marie, and I, went to Kananaskis Village to walk and take pictures. I had just bought my new digital camera Canon Rebel XTI and I thought that this was the perfect opportunity to practice my conversation skills in English as well as my ability to take pictures. Since Gabi and Delia are from Bucharest, Romania, and Marie is from Shanghai, China, there was no chance for me to speak French at all. From Calgary, it took us about one hour to get there so we talked a lot in the car during the trip. Marie and I talked about Chinese gardens because I’m fascinated by these magical and mysterious places. She mentioned the word “horticulture” which is the study of growing things, or more simply, gardening. Marie told me that if I was to go to China, I should visit Suzhou because there is a lot of a wonderful traditional garden in that town located west of Shanghai and most of them are recognized as “United Nations World Heritage” sites. I told her that when I will have a house, I’m going to build a small replica of a Chinese garden with a pond with fish in it. I really learned a lot on the Chinese culture by speaking with her because she told me that every plant has a symbolism in these gardens. She also invited me to celebrate Chinese New Year at her place to cook and eat real Chinese food. There are some words that I don’t know what they mean such as “feng shui” or “dumplings” but in general this exercise was benefic for me because I learned new vocabulary from Marie such as “horticulture” and “perennial”. In my opinion, every time I speak to someone in English, I learn something new like new culture, new vocabulary, or developing new interests.

Dreams...

In my opinion, dreaming is very good for people's global health because it allows the dreamer to express repressed comportments which are normally prohibited by society or by our conscience. Yesterday I dreamed that I was smoking again but it has been almost four years since I quit. The cigarette was good though, and I didn't seem bother by the fact that it has been a nightmare for me to quit. Except that when I woke up, I felt terribly guilty because I really thought that I was addicted again. That is to say that cigarette dependence has a very strong effect and that my brain is still drawn by nicotine. Moreover after reading an article on black and white and color dreams, I tried to observe my own dreams and discovered that they are mostly in color. I wish I could remember the dreams that I had back when I was baby because by looking at this picture, I think that they are the most beautiful ones. The word "dreams" evoke many images in my mind such as goals that everyone of us tries to achieve in his or her life. One of my dream is to own a land covered with trees, with my house built on it and with some horses that I can ride... Another one is to pass the EAP program and stay alive! But my biggest ambition is to reach happiness and be proud of what I've achieve during my life.

Explorer

Explorer is a word that can take almost indefinite meanings. Everybody is an explorer in his or her own way. An explorer can be a man or a woman who explore for the first time each other's body while making love. An explorer can be the child who makes its first steps to reach his or her mother's hand. I really like this word because it invokes my imagination process which can generate a world of meanings. In French we say: "UNE IMAGE VAUT MILLE MOTS!" which can be translated in English as:"AN IMAGE IS A THOUSAND WORDS!". Now I just realized that I can reverse it if I want to built a richer meaning for every word I met: "A WORD IS A THOUSAND STORIES!" And this is also a way to interpret the meaning of the word explorer which hides a thousand stories. I like the concept of an iceberg; your first perception of a word is only superficial. Your imagination is the diver who goes deep under the water to explore the hidden part of the iceword and that's how one can really learn a language.

Carl Sagan's Cosmos (reedited)

The space explorers and the earth explorers are the two groups of travelers presented in Carl Sagan’s documentary. The first group presented was the Voyager probes or spacecrafts, sent into space in the late 20^th century to collect information about the outer space. The second group was the ship navigators of the17^thcentury, which traveled the world and helped map our planet. The similarities between these explorers are quite impressive: both carried messages to unknown civilizations, both traveled to unknown worlds, and both made scientists reflect on their discoveries. However, they differ in many respects: one is powered by nuclear energy, while the other by wind; one is inhabited by men, while the other is not; one travels at a very high speed, while the other goes relatively slow.
In the 17^th century, Holland played a major role in the advancement of science. In spite of the fact that it was a small country, Holland’s unique characteristics provided a perfect place for scientific progress. Having recently become independent from stagnant Spain, the Dutch nation took this opportunity to embrace more fully than any other country the spirit of the European enlightenment. Because it was a society of tolerance, freedom of thought, and scientific curiosity, Holland became a refuge for intellectuals such as Descartes, Galileo, and Spinoza. Among them, Chistian Hyugen developed the telescope and became the first man to identify Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. Much other technologic advancement like the invention of the microscope, the development of accurate clocks, and the publication of scientific books, helped define Holland as a predominant actor on the 17^th century scientific scene.

Comments on Editing Experience

I would say that editing is absolutely essential for any good creator in general. Whether it is for a painter, an author, or a designer, etc., everyone who wants to come with a good work, must confront it to other points of view to see if it is solid. That is why good critics are important to accept to improve one’s skills. Writing is among the most important exercises where editing is needed because the author want to be sure that his or her message is clearly understood, backed by strong and distinct arguments, and if it’s free of grammatical errors. Like if we take the example of a teacher who prepares a test, he will ask his or her colleagues their opinions to see if the students will get the questions in the right way or if there is any ambiguity in it. This is especially important if the instructor does not want a student line up in front of his or her office. The writer wants to have strong, distinct supporting ideas to convince the readers. Writing the same idea twice but in different words is a frequent mistake for beginners and editing is the best tool to correct it. Providing a fresh perspective, the editors will see mistakes that the author does not see anymore because he or she has been absorbed in it for too long. Finally, but of the uttermost importance, accepting thankfully and positively the critics make the editing experience a very constructive one.

biography

Let me introduce myself. I was born the last boy in a family of four boys and one girl. At that time 5 children was a big family compared to the other kids of that generation. I think my parent’s plan was to have 3 kids, but the hazard sometimes play tricks on us. My mom first gave birth to 2 boys in an interval of 2 years, and for the last one she hoped (I mean they hoped) it would be a girl but then we appeared; my twin brother first, and then me 20 minutes later. So my parents tried one last time and my little sister came to life. That’s why we are 4 boys and a girl.

I grew up on a farm in the small town of Sainte-Marie de Beauce. 50 kilometers south of Quebec City in the province of Quebec, Canada. My dad had a shop of electronics where he was selling and fixing radios, videos and TVs while my mom was at home dealing with five naughty kids. =) … to be continued….

English as Universal Language

English will keep his position as a universal language. It is already well implanted world-wide in many sectors as sciences, transportation, media, technology and business, to name a few, so it would be a waste of time to start over with another one. English is the most standardized language so are not the majority of other systems of communication like Chinese who have so many different dialects that some people from different regions can hardly understand each other. Another aspect that makes English strong as universal language is that it is much easier to learn than other languages like French for example who have gender for everything or Chinese who have so many symbols to memorize and nuances in the way to pronounce them.

PICO

My dog Pico is now one year old. What a year we have spent together! Pico is a male border collie with a short haired coat. I named him Pico because he has a lot of dots on the nose and on his belly. You have to know that in Quebec, where I'm from, "picot" is a slang word that means dot. Pico was born on a farm in Claresholm, a small town, 2 hours south from Calgary. I bought him for my birthday last year. At that time he was so small, just like a cat, and it has been hard for me to choose one puppy from the 8 cubs litter. I choose the cutest one! But to be sure he was a good puppy, I grabbed him and hold him for a minute in front of me while looking into his eyes. To my relief, he stay still and didn't moved: He was a beta! Beta dogs, contrary to alpha dogs, are more obedient, they don't try to be dominants. My dog is very intelligent and playful. He loves the snow and chewing on balls and on wood sticks. Every morning we go to the off-leash park just in front of my place to walk a few turns and play a little bit. It makes him happy and it provides me the exercise I need to get my day started. Pico is my best friend, my best confident, my best hiking mate and I wish that you are as happy with me than I am with you. =)