International Women's Day...

... or "Journée internationale des femmes" in French. There were events like these all over the country (do notice the snow. This is Montréal, after all. :) ).

It is one of those days, which my mhhh... militant fiber is there and screaming.

Those days? Whether Martin Luther King Day, whether... the Pride Day... whether too many days...

And THANKFULLY these days exist... yet I'd wish that someday, the raison d'être would vanish.

Maybe it's the Good Samaritan in me... maybe I have this seemingly naïve ideal... that we're all... humans.

So naive, it seems...

There shouldn't be humans penalized, because they happen to live in a not so welcoming country, shall I say...

No matter where on earth, there and here,

There shouldn't be humans considered as less of an human,

based on race,
based on sexual orientation...
...and based on gender.

It is on days like this one, I have this urge to shout to the top of my lungs, these very words...

All human beings,
are born equal,
in dignity and rights.

Those are the very first words... of the Universal Declaration of... Human Rights.


We can pride ourselves that we we live in a supposedly modern world, and yet in the very way we behave... it's still the dark age...

Cheers to all my fellow female companions. It's your day!

-E

(The last two photos were taken during a quick trip to Ottawa last September. The monument is... of course the Human Rights monument located on Elgin Street near city hall, and also within a few minutes of walk from the Parliament. If you happen to visit this monument, you'll be told that the monument has been blessed by the Dalaï Lama and presumably, some of his good spirit is lingering...

... and that concludes my tip to the savvy travelers. :) )

Mobile internet... a tiny step closer...

In the meantime, we still do not have the iPhone nor the Sidekick...

I change my cellphone recently and I kept the old one as a backup. The beauty of GSM phones (which are also the lot of the iPhone and Sidekick), you just remove the SIM card from one phone, put in the other, and voilà!

The new phone was for the trip in France last January, so it would work there (and it did, and it was a lifesaver at Roissy / Charles-de-Gaulle airport. :) ).

The frustrating part is that nearly all new cellphones... are internet ready. Mine does that. It has some applications (web browser, Yahoo/MSN Messenger, mail, etc) and the phone itself can work as a modem to a laptop.

Sadly, our cellphone providers haven't beefed up their network, so they charge insane amount of money even for light use of the internet. This is why Apple didn't launch their iPhone in Canada, and this is why the Sidekick is being phased out. The use of a "Crackberry" in Canada can be costly. What an irony, considering that RIM, the makers of the Blackberry is... Canadian.

Frustrating.

Today, I was playing with my still quite brand new cell phone, and somehow I accidentally activated its internal web browser. I know too well what would happen next. A warning page that anything I would do past that point will cost me an arm and a leg.

It's the feeling of being at a candy store... empty pocket. :) All the candies you want are there... you have no money to buy just even one candy. :)

Lo and behold, this time the text has changed. I'm invited to sign up for their "unlimited internet" plan. Cost? $7 per month. (If you can read French, click on the photo).

What? No monthly 3-figure amount of money? Unlimited internet that is truly... unlimited? For just $7 a month? There must be a gotcha, somewhere, right? :)

Well, I checked. Indeed unlimited internet for $7 per month... with only the applications that are stored on the cellphone... and as long as the phone doesn't act as a modem for a laptop. For those purposes, the "arm and a leg" plan still apply.

A bummer, but that's a start, so I sign up for their somewhat unlimited.. Mobile dirt road access to the internet. It's still better than nothing. :)

I have issues about human speech, and voice over a cellphone, is my absolute nightmare.

South of the border, when you see the things deaf persons do with their Sidekick, and how handy such devices have become in their day to day life... It is difficult to imagine that these devices are just a dream here in Canada, and have to live... without them.

And for me, dreaming to have a Sidekick. Sigh...

Also as a traveler, whether checking planes, weather, or last minute searches at the place I'm going, I can vouch that internet on the go is very useful.

An iPhone or a Sidekick is a tad... more compact than a laptop, nor they need to be close to a Wi-Fi access point to work. :)

One last digression: When I was in France last January, one of my cousins had a French iPhone.

Their data plan? Unlimited internet for the equivalent of $35 CDN. Restrictions? After the first 500Meg, the service provider (Orange) reserves the right to slow down the access to the internet. Wow.

By the way, they are currently testing high quality video live conversations.. They openly invite deaf people to try their service. Yup, having conversations... in Sign Language.

This is how spiffy cellphone services have become in France...

What a contrast with Canada.

Sigh...

-E

Another XO laptop is on the way ?!?

I checked my mail this morning... and I was floored to read this mail from OLPC:

---------- 8< ---------

Your XO laptop is on its way.

We're happy to inform you that your XO laptop has shipped. In order to help you get the most out of your experience with the XO and One Laptop per Child (OLPC), here are some important links. Please save this email for reference.

To find out everything you need to know to get started with your XO laptop, please click here or visit www.laptopgiving.org/start.

Your order reference number: 700000xxxx

Please click here to track your order on our website.

---------- 8< ---------

What's the problem? I got my XO laptop *2* months ago, and it arrived without fanfafe. No e-mail, no nothing. Now they're telling that it's on its way ?!?

I hide the details but the tracking number they supplied is invalid. I called my credit card company, I explained what is happening, and they assure me that there were no charge made.

I don't know what to think: Will I get another XO laptop, and this one for free ?!? Is it the e-mail I should have got last January? Your guess is as good as mine.

It seems it's total chaos at OLPC. Many complaints that the laptops still haven't shipped We're in March, for orders placed in November and December. What a waste of good will. Now they have plenty of pissed off people.

It makes me wondering that if they can't deliver laptops in the US and Canada, where we have top notch infrastructures... how do they manage to deliver laptops to third world countries, and to support their laptops? I'm scratching my head.

Clevergirl reported that Nicholas Negronpote is leaving OLPC. Probably for good reasons. I guess it's one thing to design a laptop (and the little XO is a marvel. I'd say this is text-book "rightsizing" and that thing is incredibly *rugged*!)... and it is another to operate a company.

Again from Clevergirl, if you're wondering what a $200 laptop looks like, and it is no-toy laptop, see the video here. Also, see the XO laptops in the field (limited closed-captioning).

Personally, I'd say it's an incredible laptop. VERY rugged hardware like I've rarely seen. It is the ideal companion to a traveler.

(I'm looking for external hardwares, like an ethernet to USB, because the access to the internet is just Wi-Fi. Also, I have to figure out how to copy files from a memory card to an external hard disk or memory key. Once these glitches solved, my fancy schmancy (and fragile) Vaio laptop will get pampered at home, while the XO will travel with me, and probably where few laptops I've been. :) )

Not bad for a $200 laptop, eh? :)

Cheers,

-E

Travel, travel...

Well, it seems that I'm going to travel, after all.

Mid-May: There's a "forumfest" brewing up in California. Either Sacramento or San Francisco. Personally, like the song, I wish I can say that I left my heart over there. ;)

Now, I have to figure out whether I can take a 2-week vacations. I wish to go to California the slow way. Maybe by train, and then returning by plane. Might take too long time, especially if I want to spend some times in SF, but I'm checking things.

Mid-June: Blogadelphia. The mid-Atlantic contingent of bloggers will be there (in Philadelphia).

End of July: Lowell festival blogfest. This time, the Northeast contingent of bloggers. :) On this one, I hope I can combine with a visit in Boston... and a stay on Cape Cod.

Funny, they all say that I have to bring my kilt. Sheesh...

Do they think that I sleep with a kilt on? :) Take a shower or go to the beach with a kilt? :)

Hehehe....

PS: As a side-note, dreaming of *summer* events when I'm deeply buried in the snow...

This is sweet. Very sweet. :)

Cheers,

-E

A straight questionnaire :)

<--- During the Montréal 2006 Outgames, there were many other events... which were targeted to straights. Photo taken on Ste.Catherine street, in the Gay Village.

I saw this questionnaire circulating from bloggers to bloggers and it landed at FC. (you probably have seen it, or some variants in e-mail too).

Pass this questionnaire to people you know... who would enjoy it. :)

-----

This questionnaire is for self-avowed heterosexuals only^*. If you are not openly heterosexual, pass it on to a friend who is. Please try to answer the questions as candidly as possible. Your responses will be held in strict confidence and you anonymity fully protected.

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?

2. When and how did you first decide you were a heterosexual?

3. Is it possible your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?

4. Could it be that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?

5. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexual tendencies? How did they react?

6. Why do heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into their lifestyle?

7. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be what you are and keep it quiet?

8. Would you want your children to be heterosexual, knowing the problems they'd face?

9. With all the societal support for marriage, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships among heterosexuals?

10. Considering the menace of overpopulation, how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual?

11. Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don't you fear s/he might be inclined to influence you in the direction of her/his learnings?

12. Heterosexuals are notorious for assigning themselves and one another rigid, stereotyped sex roles. Why must you cling to such unhealthy role-playing?

13. Why are heterosexuals so promiscuous?

14. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you to change if you really want to. After all, you never deliberately chose to be heterosexual, did you? Have you considered aversion therapy or Heterosexuals Anonymous?

A glimpse of serenity and peacefulness...

Beauséjour means "nice stay" in French, and boy it was indeed a nice (albeit short) stay, last Sunday.

With a pair of (loaned) snowshoes, I went to Beauséjour Park. The good thing is the park is located close to my home.

The park is the pride of our neighborhood. You'll see why in a few minutes. It's a heavily wooded park and it is located along the shore of the Rivière-des-Prairies.

The day was nice, sunny and warm, and after the last snowstorm that has dumped another foot of snow, it was an opportunity to get outside.



This is the entrance to the park (which is plowed. There are some plowed trails in the park too).

In the distance the "chalet".

PS: Notice the height of the snow. :)

Above waist high snow.

Note: today (wednesday), we had another snowstorm...

... and yes, we were graced or ahem dumped with another foot of snow today, and guess what? Another foot of snow is forecasted for the upcoming weekend. I kid you not!

So what you see on these photos is already... very passé. :)



It's winter wonderland...


















Path... path... path...











Sun peeking through the trees...

Calm, peacefulness...

Silence, serenity...

And one wonders why I love nature? :)

Well, my friends, I hope you enjoy this walk in the park. Canadian style. :)

Cheers!

-E

Nini la chance... or a mighty nostalgia trip!

I don't watch television _that_ much. News bulletins, weather, at times some documentaries and that's that.

It seems that for the weekend they unscramble more channels, so I got one of those "nostalgia" channel.

And boy I was yanked... in a past that I didn't suspect it got that far. A delightful hour with singer Annie Cordy, and the songs she sang in the 70s.

It's been already 30 years, almost 40 years ago. Wow. That doesn't make me feel young!!!

And it's amazing that after a few hesitations, all of a sudden it comes back to you.

I had that same feeling, and probably at the most oddest place, singing in duo at 10 000km away from Paris, in front of an English-speaking public. Not bad eh? :)

A street artist by the name of Joshua, a former Frenchman... at the Vancouver's Grandville Island Market, on a warm day of December 2006. He spotted my "Québec" jacket. He invited to join him and to sing along in front of the public. And I dare to say YES!

Singing in French... songs from Yves Montand, Charles Aznavour and Michel Sardou of that same era, in front of a (small) public who obviously never heard anything in French but were curious at us. An impromptu duo. It's one of those crazy things that makes you love travels.

Boy I thank him for "priming" me, so i wouldn't look too silly. Those songs were tucked deep deep in my memory, as I haven't heard them in decades, and then after a few seconds, poof it's all fresh.

Many crazy things also happened during that trip to Vancouver, good and bad, but I digress. Suffice to say that of all my travels, I have highly fond memories. You can read my original blog entry at FC about that crazy trip to Vancouver. End of digression again. :)

So... when you need a video for your blog, say about Annie Cordy, where do you turn to? YouTube, of course.

The snippet I have chosen looks like from the show I saw earlier this evening. "Nini la chance" is the kind of easy going music, with style that were prevailing in the 70s.

Somehow, with all the techno, and all the modern music, which to me it's awful noise... I kind of regret those songs from the 70s.

Also, look at the orchestra. Back then, they had $$$ ! Today's television wouldn't be able to afford so many live musicians. Also the use of *real* instruments back then, and no electronic keyboard around.

Sometimes, when one wonders about culture, well this *is* culture. A snapshot of our world, how we live, and when delivered later, it makes you dreaming all over again.

I was a bit sad that the show lasted just an hour, I'd take an additional hour or two or even three with Annie Cordy. Sigh. For the songs themselves, for the memories that they brought to the surface... and about an era that seems getting incredibly distant.

So, here she goes, Annie Cordy with Nini la Chance.... (Sorry, no close captioning, I couldn't find a clip with it).



Cheers,

-E

Montréal Nuit Blanche...

It seems that I won't make it to that event. The other year, I had an awful bad cold, and this year, I'm on call.

What is Nuit Blanche? It's a cultural event. Many shows to see, all night long.
There are also fun activities to do throughout the night. The highlight of that event is a night at an outdoor swimming pool. Heated pool, I should mention... but still surrounded with snow for some added effects... and observing (I hope) a starlit sky.

Sigh. :)

Web site: Nuit blanche.

Cheers,

-E

OLPC user group in Ottawa!

The little XO laptop is getting some momentum in the nation's capital.

I'm passing along the official announcement from Clevergirl.

Sigh... I'm on duty for this week and next week, otherwise, highway 417 is tempting. Or VIA Rail.

Cheers!

-E

Being hugged by a stranger...

The doorbell chimed in yesterday evening.

The snowstorm had subsided a bit, but it was still snowing and it was quite windy. No one is outside unless one has to. A neighbour? My landlord? Mhhh...

So I opened the door. I saw a tall man in his 60s, lots of grey hair and wearing worn out clothes. Mhhh... in this snowstorm?

Overall, the guy seems shy, and it's obvious that a lot of doors have been slammed on him.

He didn't say a word, but he waved a card at me. So I looked at his card...

A card, with letters A to Z, with drawings of a hand for each letter.

Dang, I immediately recognize... fingerspelling.

Fingerspelling is the alphabet... in *Sign Language*. The guy in front of me is most likely deaf.

On the other side of the card, there's a short text telling me that he's selling these cards for a living and asking me for a donation. I also noticed that it was for Valentine's Day. It's a bit late.

I was genuinely surprise, and he saw my surprise.

So I *signed*... DEAF YOU ? (with the proper facial expression for a Yes/No question). Textbook ASL. :)

You should see his face lighting up. Really, he didn't expect that someone who could sign!

What I didn't expect... he came to me... and hugged me!

Mhhh.. there are things in life which... you accept, no matter what. Can you refuse a hug? Of course not!

Hugged by a stranger, right at home. Home delivered hugs. :) Got to say, there are far worse things that can happen when answering the door!

Gee whiz, he isn't dressed warmly. He didn't want to come in nor drink something hot.

So I learn that he's born deaf, and he's trilingual, French, LSQ (Quebec Sign Language) and ASL (American Sign Language). He found absolutely amazing that I'm a hearing person and learning ASL for the fun of it during my spare time.

The conversation didn't last long... He wanted to continue his run. In this crazy weather? Yup...

So I gave him a substantial amount of money. That's the very least I can do.

So we "Muaaaaaaaaaahh" each other and he left. I stayed on the front porch for a little while, observing him, walking in the snow toward the next home...

In the snowstorm... I felt bad for him.

What can I do?

Now, it was me who was getting cold.

So I closed the door.

Sigh...

-E

Ahhhhh.... Ha ! Familiprix!

It says something about television... when ads get more fame than the show they sponsor. :)

On Quebec television, both French and in English, there are those "Ahhhhhhhhhh... HA!" ads, for the "Familiprix" drugstores. They all crack me up.

Such as this one:



The thing is... when you hear that "Ahhhh... HA!" something is bound to happen, like to this cyclist who didn't pay attention...




Here's the grand finale, 4 ads in one, with subtitles in Portugese, no less!




Those local advertisings have won many international prizes. Not bad, eh?

Ahhhh HA!

Cheers. :)

( Be well! )

-E

Casse toi alors, pauvre con!

Well, I figure it's the kind of news that will reach the English-speaking press.

It's French argot (slang) for: "Get out of my way, dummy!"

Those are the not very diplomatic words French president Sarkozy has uttered today at a French agriculture show.

In the brouhaha, it appears that someone was not exactly a fan of Sarkozy and he stood in his way... and Sarkozy didn't appreciate.

Le Parisien is a well known national newspaper. So I went on their web site, and yes... they got the video of the event.

Oops. :)

There's a non-written rule. A French president should never treat a French citizen as "pauvre con". No kidding. :)

That being said, if the French had heard the many not very diplomatic words from our former prime minister, Jean Chrétien, whoopy!!!

Enjoy,

-E

20 Chinese Deaf dancers perform...

This is why I like the DeafRead feed that you see on the right-hand size of my blog. Sometimes, you see some newslinks that are simply mind blowing.

Check this blog page: 20 Deaf Dancers Perform . There are two YouTube videos. It's eerie to see, and when you think that all these dancers are deaf, so they have to rely on timing, visual clues, and the feel of vibration of loud music.

Enjoy!

-E

PS: After you saw the videos, remember that we call deafness... a disability. It makes you wondering, n'est-ce pas? :)

Juno...

The other day, I had the chance to see Juno. The movie, that is. :)

I come from FC, which several fellow bloggers upthere didn't like the movie. Personally, it's not my kind of movie, it's a bit sombre for my taste, but it's a good movie, overall. I'm also quite pleased to see that it might get an Oscar.

Not sure whether it's our Canadian accent, or our culture? Juno, aka Ellen Page is a young Halifax native, and the movie was entirely shot in Vancouver.

Sure, there's no Bruce Willis, and no wall to wall big Hollywood-style special effects. A low budget movie, so you have to go straight to the point. This is also why I like low budget movies. :)

Teenhood, at a time when boys become men, and girls, women. With the sexual freedom we enjoy, what was bound to happen... happened.

Topics like teen pregnancy... and its potential consequences, like abortion and adoption... it's a bit heavy, albeit the movie makes it palatable, nonetheless.

But I can't help, but thinking of my own teenhood and the men and women of my generation. This was a pre-HIV era, and also at a time the pill was a reality.

Were we all saints... and always using contraception? Mhhh.... I think a lot of us would have to plead the 5th amendment, isn't it?

It seems that a generation later, in a time that promiscuity can be a deadly proposal, there are some topics that are universal.

I don't have kids, but at this adult age, the parenting fibre is present and strong. So I can't help but thinking of what would happen if my teen daughter got pregnant, or my son did so to his girlfriend. Abortion, Adoption? Ewwwww....

Of course, if it was up to me, my answer would be:
1) Oh thank you for making me a grandfather!

2)Keep your baby. He or She will still be better in your hands... and take care as much as you can... and yes, the grandparents are there... sigh.

So all in all, a movie that makes me stop and ponder about a few things... it's not a bad movie. Not bad at all. :)

Cheers,

-E

Almost there... and itching...

What's in common: A Canadian passport, a used Trans Link transit ticket from Vancouver, various currencies (Euros, US and Canadian $), some frequent flyer cards and rail cards...

Travel.

It's funny, I'm getting a slew of snail mail blurbs all telling me... that I'm "almost" there. Almost there for a free trip to Japan (thanks Air Canada and Aéroplan").

Almost there for another transcontinental trip by train, that one free (Merci VIA Rail!), while I'm almost there to maintain my "silver" VIA Rail Privilege status for the 2008-2009, etc...

Almost there. Le sigh...

So I was sorting my papers tonight, and somehow lining up these things as I found them, each of them a reminder of various travels I did.

It's itching like a rash, while I'm still grounded for several months to come.

Did you have a frequent flyer card begging you? A passport that feels lonely? :)

Mine do cry. :)

Oh, I think that I caught the travel bug. :)

Cheers!

-E