I am no business person but I own a blackberry. I SHOULD have an iPhone but my contractual obligations to a certain phone company make this impossible. I resigned myself to the fact that the maker of Blackberry, RIM, is a Canadian company and I should be pleased to be supporting them. My newly purchased blackberry is broken, already. Not from any misuse, I have been informed that most of the track balls - especially in the blackberry pearl - act up and that if I wanted it fixed I would have to send it into RIM and wait a few weeks to get it back. Breaking down so soon? I cannot believe a phone that costs people a cool few hundred is prone to such malfunction!
Imagine my annoyance to see much despised U2 (my distaste for them is purely post 2000 Bono) doing a blackberry commercial! As I cursedly jabbed away at the cheap piece of garbage phone RIM has taken the world by storm with, I decide I no longer side with Jim Balsillie on the whole Coyotes deal - I am team NHL! Are you there Jim? It's me, Maeve - use your fast amounts of money to put out quality phones that do not need replacing within one month of purchase!
Just when I think I can get a little peace, I read that RIM is the fastest growing company in the world. Oy vey, what a day.
Monday, August 17, 2009
It's my blog, and i'll review if i want to
I had high expectations for the film 'District 9' - not because Peter Jackson had his name on it, not because it was seemingly going to have some of the finest computer graphics to date and not because I have ever been a science-fiction junkie. When I learned the premise of the film, I was intrigued. District 9 was not going to be the typical aliens-invade-humans-fight etc etc, beyond all the science-fictional premise and the incredible CGIs, it was going to be a political commentary.
When a mothership lands over the city of Johannesburg (the irony should not be lost on anyone), people of the world wait with baited breath for the invasions, for a war of the worlds. After three months of no movement from the ship, the government sends the army to cut into the ship to find out what the heck is going on. Over a million aliens are found in the ship - referred to as "prawns", because of their resemblance to the sea creatures - and are displaced in District 9, what is a mix of refugee camp, ghetto and concentration camp. It is, essentially, apartheid. It becomes a slum. Living in District 9, in the middle of Johannesburg, comes to be an issue over the two decade period. Crime within the slum is rising (and herein is an excellent sub-plot involving Nigerian gangsters), alien human interaction is becoming increasingly violent and human civilian pressure leads the South African government to build another camp, District 10, 200 km outside of Johannesburg. A private company, MNU, is hired give notice to the aliens of eviction and re-locate them to the other camp.
Here begins a film that raises important ethical questions in our society. While the aliens are given status cards and certain protective legal rights, it becomes increasingly clear that the interest in aliens is less to do with their non-human rights but with their biochemical warfare and weaponry. Further, the film brings to light the important question of media legitimacy and media control. To what length will governments and private corporations go to have the foremost technology in warring and weapons? While the story contends with large scale political issues and allusions (again, the film takes place in Johannesburg and the alien apartheid is extremely powerful), there is compelling and emotional heart to the film.
A refreshing take on the sci-fi genre, with stark political observations and commentary, filmed in an immaculate documentary style with incredible computer graphics, District 9 is a film not only to savour but one to elicit discussion for years to come.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Why Obama is the Bomb-A, Why Cheney is Lamey.
Tommy Douglas would be proud.
Our favourite president Ba-rock the vote is trying his darndest to reform healthcare in the United States - i.e losing your finger might not cost you 5,000 bones (no pun intended). The cost is an astronomical 1 trillion dollars over the next 10 years, a large but necessary sum to stabilize the skyrocketing health care costs in the US.
I can almost feel the collars tightening around the Republicans (and Blue Dog Demos) necks who may or may not have a conflict of interest due to their investments in certain Pharmaceutical corps. When all else fails? Scare tactics. War mongering, vote garnering, good ol' fashioned propaganda which leaves the mailable American mind desperately ordering the latest Swine flu vaccine.
But Obama won't let down. He called out these scare tactics today and, love him or hate him (if you hate him, you probably shouldn't read this blog) you have to respect the man's courage to stand up agaisnt some of the most powerful corporations and their investors in the "free world".
Somewhere Dick Cheney is crying into his anthrax-o's.
Image courtesy of (Jim Young/Reuters).
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Great Islam Debate.
Lately, I have noticed a recurrence in media xenophobia towards Islam.
I am not Muslim. But somehow throughout the years I have found myself fascinated with the origins of Islam. I am schooled in the story of the Prophet and well versed in Muslim history since his death in 632. I had an incredibly wise history teacher in high school who, in a post 9/11 world, knew the importance of teaching her students about Islam and teaching them not to believe everything the media demonizes.
And as everyone can remember, life was not good for Muslims after 9/11. The fact that an extremist terrorism organization, who happened to be extremist Muslims, wreaked such havoc on the United States did some serious damage to the perception of Muslims and the religion of Islam.
While the sting has faded a bit (though not everywhere), I still find that anytime a news story comes up where someone in the story is Muslim, public opinion is quick to judge the incidents as "religiously related". For example, with the killing of the three young Montreal women in Kingston and their relative (who, unfortunately for stereotypical reasons, turned out to be their father's wife number one of two) the press and readers were quick to assume that their deaths were "honour killings" - though several family members refute this possibility.
Islam is a peaceful religion but many non-Muslims don't see it this way. About twenty percent of the world's population is Muslim - how is it that such a small number of fanatics can chance the perception of an entire fifth of the planet?? At the end of the day, is it religion or regionalism? There are a few misconceptions about Islam I will address now:
First and foremost: TERRORISM. The big ugly word most often associated with Muslims these days. But really this is often just a case of regionalism. Islam was born in the Middle-East and almost all Muslims there are NOT terrorists. Unfortunately, the conception of a terrorist today is almost always Muslim. But the question is not about whether or not they are Muslim, it comes down to the fact that Americans are occupying a great deal of land in the MidEast nad people there are pissed! Give CNN a spin on it and all of a sudden "Moslims are seeking Jihad in the war against Freedom and Democracy"
UGHHHHHHHHHHH. The concept of Jihad in Islam IS a battle - but it is meant to be a battle within yourself to acheive the five tenants and principles of Islam.
I won't turn this into a lesson on religion but if you think about it Islam has little to do with the suicide bombers, the insurgents, etc. They may all be Muslim - and the chances are good considering what part of the world they live in - but that has nothing to do with why they are "terrorists". Americans (and Canadians, unfortunately) - most of whom are NOT Muslim - are killing hundreds of innocent civillians a year in Afghanistan and Iraq. Does that make them terrorists too? Let's not go there today. I merely mean to defend Islam.
Secondly, I find a hotly contested issue within Islam (and this is an issue that plagues both Muslims and non-Muslims a great deal) is the treatment of women. While many women make the choice to cover themselves up, in some places it is forced among other things. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to leave the country without the permission of their father or husband. The Taliban, of course, are the worst culprites for treating women unjustly and their mysogonistic crimes run long and deep. But at the end of the day, and everyone knows it to be true, women are mistreated all over the world. I am not excusing it BY ANY MEANS, but I am highlighting the fact that so many people who are critical of Islam merely based on stereotypes of Muslim women should examine their own cultures too, and see maybe that there is no where in the world where women are mistreated.
Can we say Catholic Church much!? Or Hinduism?! Or Judaism? For the most part, anywhere where ORGANIZED religion is present women will be mistreated. The earliest fundamentals of most major religions rarely say anything about the subjugation of women. It is the later documents written during times of extreme male power that we see a shift.
Realistically speaking, most Muslim households are run by the women of the house. Does a woman really need to wear revealing clothing in order for us to believe that she is liberated? If a woman choses to to keep her body private isn't she more free than a woman who feels obliged to show her body in order to be validated?
There are two sides to every story.
I realize this is a rant of epic proportions - it is difficult to take on the defense of a religion when you are mostly agnostic and certainly do not believe in institutionalized religion. What I DO believe in is allowing people to worship what they believe in without passing judgement - so long as they are not hurting others nor passing judgement upon you.
Keep in mind that most, if not all, stereotypes about Muslims are erroneous. Open your mind and your heart to a religion that has a beautiful and deep cultural and social history.
For positive perspective on Islam through art - check out K'naan. K'naan was a Somalian refugee who came to Toronto during the civil war. He taught himself English and has become a successful singer/rapper - though you won't hear him singing about bitches n' hoz or how much he hates Mariah Carey. He sings about how lucky he is for having his faith - and he is a devout Muslim - and to have his freedom.
I am not Muslim. But somehow throughout the years I have found myself fascinated with the origins of Islam. I am schooled in the story of the Prophet and well versed in Muslim history since his death in 632. I had an incredibly wise history teacher in high school who, in a post 9/11 world, knew the importance of teaching her students about Islam and teaching them not to believe everything the media demonizes.
And as everyone can remember, life was not good for Muslims after 9/11. The fact that an extremist terrorism organization, who happened to be extremist Muslims, wreaked such havoc on the United States did some serious damage to the perception of Muslims and the religion of Islam.
While the sting has faded a bit (though not everywhere), I still find that anytime a news story comes up where someone in the story is Muslim, public opinion is quick to judge the incidents as "religiously related". For example, with the killing of the three young Montreal women in Kingston and their relative (who, unfortunately for stereotypical reasons, turned out to be their father's wife number one of two) the press and readers were quick to assume that their deaths were "honour killings" - though several family members refute this possibility.
Islam is a peaceful religion but many non-Muslims don't see it this way. About twenty percent of the world's population is Muslim - how is it that such a small number of fanatics can chance the perception of an entire fifth of the planet?? At the end of the day, is it religion or regionalism? There are a few misconceptions about Islam I will address now:
First and foremost: TERRORISM. The big ugly word most often associated with Muslims these days. But really this is often just a case of regionalism. Islam was born in the Middle-East and almost all Muslims there are NOT terrorists. Unfortunately, the conception of a terrorist today is almost always Muslim. But the question is not about whether or not they are Muslim, it comes down to the fact that Americans are occupying a great deal of land in the MidEast nad people there are pissed! Give CNN a spin on it and all of a sudden "Moslims are seeking Jihad in the war against Freedom and Democracy"
UGHHHHHHHHHHH. The concept of Jihad in Islam IS a battle - but it is meant to be a battle within yourself to acheive the five tenants and principles of Islam.
I won't turn this into a lesson on religion but if you think about it Islam has little to do with the suicide bombers, the insurgents, etc. They may all be Muslim - and the chances are good considering what part of the world they live in - but that has nothing to do with why they are "terrorists". Americans (and Canadians, unfortunately) - most of whom are NOT Muslim - are killing hundreds of innocent civillians a year in Afghanistan and Iraq. Does that make them terrorists too? Let's not go there today. I merely mean to defend Islam.
Secondly, I find a hotly contested issue within Islam (and this is an issue that plagues both Muslims and non-Muslims a great deal) is the treatment of women. While many women make the choice to cover themselves up, in some places it is forced among other things. In Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to leave the country without the permission of their father or husband. The Taliban, of course, are the worst culprites for treating women unjustly and their mysogonistic crimes run long and deep. But at the end of the day, and everyone knows it to be true, women are mistreated all over the world. I am not excusing it BY ANY MEANS, but I am highlighting the fact that so many people who are critical of Islam merely based on stereotypes of Muslim women should examine their own cultures too, and see maybe that there is no where in the world where women are mistreated.
Can we say Catholic Church much!? Or Hinduism?! Or Judaism? For the most part, anywhere where ORGANIZED religion is present women will be mistreated. The earliest fundamentals of most major religions rarely say anything about the subjugation of women. It is the later documents written during times of extreme male power that we see a shift.
Realistically speaking, most Muslim households are run by the women of the house. Does a woman really need to wear revealing clothing in order for us to believe that she is liberated? If a woman choses to to keep her body private isn't she more free than a woman who feels obliged to show her body in order to be validated?
There are two sides to every story.
I realize this is a rant of epic proportions - it is difficult to take on the defense of a religion when you are mostly agnostic and certainly do not believe in institutionalized religion. What I DO believe in is allowing people to worship what they believe in without passing judgement - so long as they are not hurting others nor passing judgement upon you.
Keep in mind that most, if not all, stereotypes about Muslims are erroneous. Open your mind and your heart to a religion that has a beautiful and deep cultural and social history.
For positive perspective on Islam through art - check out K'naan. K'naan was a Somalian refugee who came to Toronto during the civil war. He taught himself English and has become a successful singer/rapper - though you won't hear him singing about bitches n' hoz or how much he hates Mariah Carey. He sings about how lucky he is for having his faith - and he is a devout Muslim - and to have his freedom.
Questions of the day
How is it possible that...
Karlheinz Schreiber is in jail and Brian Mulroney isn't (and y'all know he should be)?
That an American graduate student was fined $675,000 U.S for downloading and sharing music by four seperate record companies?
That civillian deaths in Afghanistan are up this year?
Yet another strain of HIV has been discovered?
Why the hell do we have to watch advertisements (not previews, I mean the full out car/cellphone/coke ads) before overpaying to see a movie???
*Sigh. There are answers to all of these questions but none of them appease me, nor do they appease most of the people wondering the same thing.
Also I understand that comparatively the last question is a bit trivial...but it is still something I wonder angrily about!
Karlheinz Schreiber is in jail and Brian Mulroney isn't (and y'all know he should be)?
That an American graduate student was fined $675,000 U.S for downloading and sharing music by four seperate record companies?
That civillian deaths in Afghanistan are up this year?
Yet another strain of HIV has been discovered?
Why the hell do we have to watch advertisements (not previews, I mean the full out car/cellphone/coke ads) before overpaying to see a movie???
*Sigh. There are answers to all of these questions but none of them appease me, nor do they appease most of the people wondering the same thing.
Also I understand that comparatively the last question is a bit trivial...but it is still something I wonder angrily about!
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