Anti-Integration/Pro-Segragation Video from The University of the Free State, South Africa

I can barely concentrate enough to write about this video. I’m so angry that things like this still go on in our world. It’s disgusting. As much as the University of the Free State and the individuals belonging to the Reitz hostel try to downplay this, it has become impossible not to garner unwanted media attention. Especially with YouTube and Facebook, blogs across the world, good luck.

At the University in the Free State, young [white] men from the Reitz residence made a video “initiating” the black cleaners coming to work at their hostel. I learned about the situation in an article in the Toronto Star. (A link is posted below.) The video really speaks for itself, though it’s in the South African (Afrikaans) language. A picture is worth a thousand words. It has made its way across the internet, of course. (The YouTube link is posted below.)

In this “information age” something like this can’t be kept quiet. Thank goodness! It is more than necessary that we know what is happening. I know what racism feels like. I know what it’s like to be thought of as less than everyone else around you because of how you were born, something you have no control over. I know what it’s like, even though you have all kinds of schooling, diverse friends and a wonderful family, to be thought that your opinion doesn’t matter; that you don’t matter and nothing you can say will make a difference.

I usually don’t like to talk about these things. They hurt me. But I feel as though it’s more than an obligation, it is my moral duty to help these voices be heard. I believe that we are all equal, that skin colour doesn’t play a part in the person you can be. But I also know that this belief isn’t held by everyone. That you can be denied a job because you aren’t white or Christian. That, as shown in the video, you can be made to drink urine and forced to participate in a video that is a protest against integration.

No matter what these people do, segregation won’t last forever. Slowly, the whole world will be made to see that every person, no matter their colour on the outside, is the same within. The global fight may not be won in my generation, but as saddened as I am to see videos like this, it is fortunate that it affects so many people, of all races, in such a strong way.

My blood is as red as yours.


You Tube Linkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8N-h8anSuE

Toronto Star Articlehttp://www.thestar.com/article/345955

You Tube Posted Response to the Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNjJpxWaseE

University of the Free State Websitehttp://www.uovs.ac.za/

An Italian Straw Hat

An Italian Straw Hat is a ballet (yes, a ballet) running at the Four Seasons in Toronto. It was the funniest ballet I’ve ever seen. If you want to try out ballet and you’re not sure about it, go see An Italian Straw Hat. The characters are interesting and hilarious. The music is beautiful and energetic. There are love triangles and all kinds of suggestive positioning. It opens with a woman sitting on a man’s face!! I’d love to see it again.

The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing Of The Three

Why does Roland pursue the Dark Tower? I still wonder. I know it is his obsession. I know what he did in the first book to get there. I know why Eddie and Susannah are now with him. I know what he is willing to do to them, though he loves them to get there. Why does he pursue it? Will it right his world? Will his world gain some kind of peace or coherence? (A world I still think is a dark future of our own.)

I think the additions of Eddie and Susannah to the story is marvelous. They are taken from our world, but at different times. Eddie first, in 1987 and then Susannah in 1959. Taken almost thirty years apart, they become a perfect pair. Now Roland isn’t the last gunslinger anymore. He has people to share in his quest, who will hopefully make it to the end.

Shrek The Third

I finally saw it… I really wanted to when it first came out in the theatres last summer, but, well, I didn’t. I heard mixed reviews. Now I know why.

It was a good movie. It was funny, but there were some parts that felt rushed. It was as if the movie was too eager to get to the end, as if it was forced. The movie was barely 1½hrs. It could have gone on a little longer and used that time to better develop the new characters.

It also lacked the same sweet kid value that the first two had. After all, it was initially designed as a kids’ movie with some hidden adult humour. I feel like that is all we got. I wanted that heartwarming kiddie feeling. I don’t know… I suppose I just thought the first two were better and Shrek The Third was just filled with star powered voices and surface comedy.

But I’d still recommend it.

Night Masks

R. A. Salvatore’s Night Masks did not disappoint. The third installment of The Cleric Quintet was thoroughly entertaining. Each of the main characters showed considerable growth. Young Cadderly has grown into his manhood and is beginning to accept all that comes with it. Night Masks was fun and exciting; the action kept moving. I can’t wait to read The Fallen Fortress.

Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West

I absolutely adored this book. Gregory Maguire wonderfully retells the story of The Wizard Of Oz. Poor Elphaba. She isn’t made out to be wicked in this story or innocent. She is just a person trying to get through life as best she can. The book examines evil. Is Elphaba born evil? I think evil things just happen to and around her. Though from birth, from conception, she seemed destined to play an important role in the history of her country.

Of course she wanted the shoes, the ruby slippers. They were her sister’s shoes and The Good Witch Of The North had no right to give them away. Both Glinda and Elphaba were only trying to do what they thought was right. After all, Dorothy was sent to the castle with the purpose of killing the Witch. I’m sad that a horrible accident, a happenstance of circumstance, cost Elphaba her life.

‘Fro

Sometimes my co-workers are so crass…

There was an article in today’s Toronto Star about black women being afraid of the "’fro” (http://www.thestar.com/living/article/298814). My female coworker said that it’s because they don’t want to look like a brillo pad. I usually take her to be a little more intelligent than that comment. I just found that terribly insensitive and judgmental. There are no black people where I work, (not for any “bad” reason, the owners only staff four people, myself and three others); there is no one there capable of growing a natural afro.

I was trying not to contribute to the day’s conflict, so I walked away. (Walking away seems to be something I have to do at the job.) What I wanted to say was that many black women feel compelled to fit into the stereotypes of beauty, which include straight, flowing hair, impressed upon them by a predominantly white media. If my coworker actually read the article before making her careless comment, those ugly words may not have come out of her mouth.

I could go on about the pressures to be beautiful, according to a certain stereotype. I could talk about how this affects the women of different cultures in different ways, from Asia to Africa to South America and the cosmetic/chemical processes these women put themselves through. These comments could turn into an essay on what is considered to be the ideal image. I’m not going to. I hope that the people reading this know what the arguments are. I just wish for a greater acceptance of individualism that looking a certain way, natural or processed doesn’t really matter. I wish a lot of things that I know aren’t true.

Read the Star article. It’s quite good, a little snippet into manufactured beauty from an afro point of view.
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/298814

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets

National Treasure was exactly what I thought it would be. It was a mystery, a treasure hunt that took the audience to some interesting locations. It used real historical fact and combined it with fiction. Nicolas Cage did his thing. The girl was beautiful. John Voigt and Helen Mirren were fantastic. The sidekick was exactly what he ought to be. I enjoyed myself.

The one thing that I question slightly is the end. Would Mitch actually do that? Where did this redeeming quality come from? What were his true motivations? It makes me go, hmm….

I loved Bruce Greenwood as president. He was very personable and approachable. Why can’t the president be like that in real life? I really doubt that if someone like Cage’s character did what he did to the president, Mr. Bush would be so accommodating. Clinton may have thought it was funny, but Cage might have had to be a girl… I’m sorry, it’s just so easy to make fun of political leaders. Of course, I’m not sure Steven Harper would make out much better than Bush…. Tony Blair seems adventurous though……

The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger

I think it’s the future. I think that it is our world that has moved on and become Roland’s. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how science and technology was forgotten, how the world fell into another dark age, but that is what I believe right now. After everything the man in black (Walter) said to Roland and about the world before, cars, the round world, visiting the moon, how could it not be our world? I know that there has been some speculation that it’s a parallel universe and Roland & Jake cross the line. I think there is magic in Roland’s world and time is crossed.

The first time I read The Gunslinger, I was in high school. I loved it. I fell for Stephen King and developed a taste for fantasy and other forms of fantastic fiction. The Gunslinger showed me that I could (and would) enjoy novels beyond the standard realm of fiction and literature. Recently, I have acquired the last novels written in The Dark Tower series (they are BIG books), as well as the graphic novel. I’m so excited to read them. However, since it’s been so long since I read The Gunslinger and it’s been eight years since I read Wizard and Glass, I thought that I might start from the beginning and enjoy the novels all over again. Like Roland, I’m working my way to The Dark Tower

Live Free or Die Hard

The fourth installment of the Die Hard movies does not disappoint. It is full of chases and explosions and ass-kicking. Bruce Willis is still John Mclane. He is still and I think always will be an action star. Everyone who has loved the Die Hard movies and loves action movies needs to see Live Free or Die Hard.

A Complicated Kindness

A Complicated Kindness is a beautifully sad story. Nomi goes through so much in her life and she’s only 16. I would never have though that a novel about a Mennonite girl could be so captivating. Miriam Toews is brilliant.

Nomi’s story is so emotional, so tangible; it breaks my heart a little. I think that’s why it took me so long to finish; the emotions reached out and grabbed me. The only way to make them let go was to put the book down. Then, of course, you are left with the longing of wanting to know what happens to Nomi.

A Complicated Kindness also gives you an interesting look at Mennonite life. You get to know a little about their history and the kind of society they’ve become. Some Mennonites truly love their community, others dream of being free from it. Behavioral rules are complex and often contradictory. It’s difficult to know what to do. This is where Nomi and her family struggle. It is a struggle between love, faith and freedom.

I Am Legend

Will Smith’s new movie is fantastic. Yes, he’s saving the world again, but he also isn’t. The catastrophe that befalls mankind is unbelievable. Is it science or God that condemns us? Is it science or God that will save us? Is it a bit of both? There are so many questions, so many things that can be talked about, but I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone who might read this. I just recommend seeing this movie more than any other one in theatres right now. There were moments where it actually made me want to cry and where I was suddenly terrified.

For a full synopsis (with full spoilers) you can check out the wikipedia page. I don’t really recommend it, or looking at too many trailers. They can give away too much about the movie and you don’t want that.

In Sylvan Shadows

The second book of R. A. Salvatore’s Cleric Quintet was fantastic. It makes me look ahead to the future books. I want to know what happens to innocent Cadderly and his friends. Things have changed so much for him. He has seen the world beyond the library walls and it is not what he expected. Violence and monsters are all too real. Death haunts him. Mercy and compassion can be weakness.

Secrets circle about him. They come so close, then are pulled away. He has to learn to deal with the real world after the things he’s experienced. Cadderly also has to learn about his own past. Who were his parents? Why did they leave him at the library? His journey goes beyond understanding the positive and negative aspects of the world, it is about finding those things in himself.

Little Brother

Who was Mary Mann and how could she write such a frightful story? The ending was so disturbing, I had to take pause. Little Brother is short, shocking and to the point. I didn’t know what to expect, but this wasn’t it. Mary Mann gives us a harsh glimpse into English life.

A Mere Interlude

Poor Baptista. I am so sad for her. She appears to have real strength at the beginning, but then loses it. Perhaps it was never strength at all and just the succumbing to a new pressure. No matter the source, I feel sorry for Baptista. She has to deal with marriage, death, passion and children all in the space of a month. She is so young. The “children” are closer to her in age than her husband! She hates teaching and when she thinks she’s gotten away from it, it is thrust upon her again.

Thomas Hardy creates an interesting, sad and funny tale. A Mere Interlude is fantastic. A thoroughly enjoyable read. I’ve always enjoyed Hardy’s works, Tess of the D’Ubervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd are fantastic novels. His short story does not disappoint.

Relics of General Chassé

I must say, that unlike Dickens, I was not eager to read Relics of General Chassé by Anthony Trollope.  I admit that I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed Anthony Trollope’s short story. It was funny, full of odd coincidences and kept me interested all the way through. The characters were believable. The situation was unique and hilarious. I’m ready to give Anthony Trollope’s works another try.

Blade Trinity

I know this is an old movie, but I saw it for the first time last night. Is it me, or did they undo everything in the second movie with the third? I thought there was a kind of bridge built between Blade and vampires. Maybe I just remember it wrong. Didn’t a beautiful female vampire die in his arms? I suppose it has been a long time since I’ve seen the movie. Is there no peace made? Or is it only with that particular group of vampires represented in Blade: II?

Whistler died. How many times has this character died now? I think this time it’s going to stick, since they’ve brought on replacement Whistler. Abigail Whistler is Papa Whistler’s illegitimate daughter. Fantastic! Now we get to see hottie Jessica Biel take a shower. Was it really necessary to have so much naked woman? I guess so, it is Biel after all, still rebelling after leaving 7th Heaven. Oh, have I said too much?

Though I must admit, she and Ryan Reynolds did a good job. They really held up the action end of this movie. Their fight sequences were great. For the ladies watching this movie, Ryan Reynolds was hot. If the guys get naked Jessica, the girls get Ryan with his shirt off. He still had his fun, comedic edge, though.

I really think that Ryan and Jessica carried the action. In some of the fight sequences with Drake, Wesley Snipes just didn’t have the flexibility he used to. He’s still big, but can’t do a spinning kick. The actor they hired for Drake didn’t have that either. I know people like him because he’s the older brother from Prison Break, but I thought he was a lame Dracula. Drake should have been bigger, scarier or something. Is this therefore the final installment of Blade? I think so. I really can’t see Wesley Snipes as the agile vampire hunter from his earlier work.

The Haunted House

What a strange story. I’m not sure what to make of it. Normally, I love Dickens. David Copperfield and Great Expectations were fabulous novels. From that experience, I was quite eager to read The Haunted House. Now, I don’t really understand what kind of conclusion I am supposed to draw.

I read the introduction to the collection (something I don’t always recommend doing; they often give away the story). I’m glad I did. Maybe I should go back and read the section on Dickens again. (I skimmed it when it was giving too many details). It’s good to know that this story is actually an introduction to a collection of Dickens’. There is a lot of character and scene introduction. I wondered why. Byatt thought to include this story, because it does have a sense of being complete. I disagree. You could feel that something was missing. I’m sure something better could have been selected.

Perhaps, with the rest of the collection, everything will be easier to understand.

The Sacristan of St. Botolph, by William Gilbert

The Sacristan of St. Botolph was written by William Gilbert in 1866. It is a part of the Oxford Collection of English Short Stories. When they say ‘English’ they don’t mean written in English, they mean England. A. S. Byatt edited this collection and sought stories that were really English, with English sensibilities. If this first short story is any indication, I think that I’m going to quite enjoy the rest.

The Sacristan of St. Botolph is really about truth, inner truth. Through devious means, the little imp helps the sacristan to become a better person. The sacristan, though by all appearances a faithful church-goer, in reality is a bad man. Not that he’s a murderer; he’s just selfish and prideful. Why does the imp bother with this man? Perhaps beneath this exterior, the imp knew there was true goodness within. Perhaps not. Perhaps this was a test, a test that in some way another man might fail. It was exactly what it seemed.

The next story is by Dickens. I can’t wait to get started.

In All It’s Glory

I’m at work yesterday, trying to get through the day, when someone walks into the storefront. Naturally, I go up to meet her. She’s an older lady, at least in her sixties, with the look of time pressed upon her. As I walk up towards her, I catch her eye. She has the look of someone wanting to sell me something, like those people going door to door in this plaza offering “promotions.” I internally prepare to politely say, ‘no thank you,’ when she hands me two small paper books, says that it’s for anyone in my workplace who is interested and walks away. Who was this woman? A Jehovah’s Witness.

Honestly, I didn’t know they were allowed to come to your workplace. The expression on her face, her attitude, her general approach made it feel to me, as though she was soliciting; getting me to buy her product. You really shouldn’t have to “sell” your religion, should you? There is nothing I feel against Jehovah’s Witness as a religion, or any religion. I believe that an individual has the right to believe or not to believe whatever they choose. I believe that in a secular nation like Canada, citizens should be free from attempted religious conversions. I also believe in freedom of speech; each individual has the right to express their beliefs.

Based on these freedoms, I have nothing against someone coming in and handing me a booklet or pamphlet. This isn’t the first time or first job where it has happened. I recall getting several Christian “save your soul” pamphlets in the years I worked at Staples. In their respected faiths, they are charged with spreading “God’s word.”

The part I don’t like is when they come back. They want to discuss what was in the booklet. Then they ask why you haven’t read it. This is unwanted conversation. If I haven’t read it, there is a reason. If I did and want to discuss it, I know where to go. If I’m at work, I don’t have time to talk about religion when I’m at work. At 8am on a Sunday, I don’t want to be talking about religion. I feel as though it’s almost demeaning to the religion. It should be attractive on its own, shouldn’t it? Faith shouldn’t need sales people.