2009 – Page 4 – Nicolas Demers

I got my picture taken with James Randi!

The Amazing Randi was invited to UBC to give the keynote address for Science Week 2009. I decided to attend even though it was a weeknight, and really out of my way. And the map I printed out from Google Maps still didn’t keep me from getting lost. Health Sciences Mall is a street, my ass.

Check it, kids!

But it was totally worth it. Randi is well in his seventies now, I think, but still going strong, and as a great showman as always. He demonstrated a few tricks (both sleight-of-hand and mentalist) to educate and entertain, and of course went over the old standbys: Peter Popoff and Uri Geller and Sylvia Browne. I’d read about all that, of course, both on his site and others, but it was a different experience to hear about it from The Man himself, in an auditorium full of other skeptics.

Nice job as always, Mr. Randi. Here’s to many more years or debunking frauds.

Foggy

I took the day off sick. No, I really wasn’t feeling well, this wasn’t so I could watch the US Inauguration live—though that was a nice bonus. And I’d like to say that, as Barack Hussein Obama took his oath of office, that the damn fog that’s been hanging around downtown Vancouver for the last, oh, ten days at least, miraculously parted, letting the daystar shine down on my light-hungry eyes.

Not so much, though. But I did go out for a bit this afternoon and shot some pictures around Sunset Beach, something I’d been meaning to do for a while but there just wasn’t enough light before or after work.

Back to the Inauguration, I loved Obama’s speech, stressing the familiar themes of unity, service and hope. And how, with impeccable class and without naming names, he repudiated everything the Bush/Cheney administration did and stood for.

But I have to give a shoutout to Reverend Joseph Lowery, who gave the ending benediction. Yes, I know, I’m not happy with invoking gods in what should be a secular ceremony, but… seriously, this guy’s awesome! Humility, humour, great timing and delivery, true dedication to his brothers and sisters. Washed the bitter taste of that blowhard bigot Rick Warren’s prayer right out of my mouth.

And, as long as I’m posting videos, here’s the great Maya Angelou reading a poem at Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration.

Book Review: Mortal Engines, Predator’s Gold, Infernal Devices

One of my new year’s resolutions is to read more literature, and then to blog about it. This post is more of a prologue to that, because the books it reviews don’t really count as literature.

So a month or two ago I was browsing TVTropes, and came upon this entry right here. A post-apocalyptic future with mobile cities that eat each other? This was way too intriguing to pass up. I decided to only order the first three books since the last, A Darkling Plain, is only out in hardback.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to read more literature, and then to blog about it. This post is more of a prologue to that, because the books it reviews don’t really count as literature.

All in all, the series was pretty good. Not great, mind you, and I don’t think I would have given it all those awards, but a pleasant little adventure story. There are a lot of clever bits, including the basic premise of Traction Cities, and various shout outs. The plot and characters, though… they were less impressive. The author’s presence was too visible, I think, moving the players around on his board, and I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief. Likewise, Hester Shaw’s evolution from Action Girl to full-on murderous sociopath felt arbitrary and forced.

Incidentally, though the series does pretty consistently depict a savagely town-eat-town world, it falls prey to the Apocalypse Not trope. In Mortal Engines the Hunting Ground was in bad shape and getting worse, with slim pickings for London. Yet in Infernal Devices, we see many cities of varied sizes coexisting, with something of a common culture. Not to mention the lands of the Anti-Traction League.

Writing-wise, the first book needed some polish. The plot seemed even more forced (honestly, it was pretty clear this was Philip Reeve’s first stab at novel writing), and there were a couple of odd bits—like passages switching to the present tense for no clear reason—that should have been caught by an editor.

Still, I was entertained, and that’s what counts, right? I’ll be sure to pick up A Darkling Plain when it comes out in paperback.

Next up: Karen X. Tulchinksy’s The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky

2008: The Year In Review

This has been a pretty interesting year, with lots for me to be proud of. Let’s run down some of my achievements, in no particular order:

Moving downtown. I’d been meaning to do this for a few years but never got off my ass until this spring. Living in the boonies was nice enough, my place was relatively cheap, but PoCo was very isolating and inconvenient in so many ways. You may recall I whined about it a couple of times. I had to get out of the ‘burbs for the sake of my sanity.
Landing a job at WebTech Wireless. In the two years since being laid off by Cayenta, the jobs I took either weren’t that exciting, didn’t pay too well, or didn’t offer any long-term advancement opportunities. But this one has real potential, both in the short term and for my career. It’s challenging, exhausting, often intimidating, and that’s exactly what I need.
Redesigning the VGVA Web site. Oh yeah, I was insecure about my abilities, but it turned out smashing (if I do say so myself). Not just that, but it was the first step to getting reconnected with the queer community, using skills I’ve developed over the years.
And while we’re at it, helping two other friends set up their sites. And volunteering to maintain the Team Vancouver site. Are we seeing a pattern yet? One day I may even get paid for it.
My brush with the Grim Reaper. Okay, not technically an achievement, but it was still a memorable event. Healing nicely, though my wrist gets a bit sore in the morning and I still need to tape it up for volleyball.
Finishing Les Misérables, over the holidays. And it only took, what, eight or nine months, give or take?
Updating my blog to WordPress and my photo galleries to Gallery, in January. Has it really only been a year?

Here’s to 2009!