Reflections on "Columbus Day"

Today is "Columbus Day" -an American federal holiday marking Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World over 500 years ago. It is a strange commemoration in many ways as some Americans celebrate it as an anniversary of the European "discovery" of America and others lament it as the onset of a period of exploitation, slavery and outright genocide of the indigenous peoples (who of course, were not the "Indians" Columbus believed them to be). At the extreme right are people like Michael Berliner (of Ayn Rand Institute) who hails the event as a time when Western civilization brought "reason, science, self-reliance, individualism, ambition, and productive achievement” to a people who were based in “primitivism, mysticism, and collectivism”. In Venezuela, by contrast, the anniversary is called, Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) and is used to criticize European colonialism and celebrate native culture.
It's interesting to look at which groups have used the anniversary and for what causes. In past eras, Catholic-Americans and Italian-Americans have used Columbus Day to counter discrimination from supremist groups like the KKK -claiming that a Catholic/Italian man discovered America thereby legitimizing their citizenship rights. Hispanic groups call Columbus Day, Día de la Raza (Day of the (Hispanic) race) and mark the occasion as a time to celebrate Hispanic and Mestizo culture in the Americas.
I remember reading a fascinating book about Columbus in a History of Latin America course I took in my undergrad. The book is called, "The Conquest of America" and is written by Tzvetan Todorov. Some of the 16th century sources Todorov cites are just incredible. Columbus is so convinced that he has found the mainland (of the Orient) that he totally disregards the native inhabitants of Hispaniola (Cuba) when they try to tell him that they are actually on an island. Quoted from one of Columbus' journals:
"And since these are bestial men who believe that the whole world is an island and who do not know what the mainland is, and have neither letters nor long-standing memories, and since they take pleasure only in eating and being with their women, they said it was an island". At one point he apparently institutes a fine of ten thousand marravedis (Spanish currency) and a punishment of having the tongue cut off for anyone who contradicts him. A truly remarkable combination of arrogance and ignorance... Now, let's all go set off some fireworks in honour of this noble and heroic man.

Writing Courses at the Hugo House

Today I attended the first class of a 6-week course called, Pilfering Our Way Through the Great Personal Essays. The course is one of many writing courses offered at the Richard Hugo House, a Seattle literary arts center that supports writers of all ages and backgrounds. There were 9 women in my class this morning, with varied levels of writing experience. Some have been crafting personal essays and memoirs for years and others, like me, were there to try something relatively new.
I look forward to having this kind of opportunity -to take a course just for personal pleasure. I think I will enjoy investing myself in the hard work of developing my skills as a writer. It gives me the push I need to actually put pen to paper. I'm that person with a very long mental list of things I'd like to do and a very poor record of following through. I've decided that now is probably a very good time to pursue my interests (in earnest). Having a job isn't the only way to be productive after all.

10 signs that I am still Canadian

My dear friend, the "Talented Foreigner" challenged me to come up with this list. Whereas her list was written as a Singaporean in Denmark, I guess my list is as a Canadian in America. It would probably have been juicier a year ago as a Canadian in Denmark but here goes:

1. Needless Apologies

Even though there is often nothing to be "sorry" for, I often find myself reflexively apologizing for random things -even the mis-steps of complete strangers.

2. Ici on parle français

I still look for the French language on everything from street signs to cereal boxes. The Spanish translations on products still startle me from time to time. I do like the Mexican influence here in America but I sometimes miss the "distinctively" French imprint.

3. Responsible Reporting

I am still shocked by the sensationalism of American news reporting. "College woman brutally attacked by masked mad man -stay tuned", or "Find out why your carpet may be killing you -more at 6:00". It's so repulsive and gross. I miss the calm and sober voices of Canadian newscasters like Peter Mansbridge and Lloyd Robertson.

4. Socialized Medicine

I simply do not understand the hysteria around Obama's health care reform. There are all these crazy people on the streets with placards likening Obama to Hitler (!?). It's offensive. Obama just wants to make sure all Americans have health care. The arguments of these people are really illogical and borderline insane.

5. Hockey

While not nearly the most avid of hockey fans (by Canadian standards), I still feel more comfortable in a milieu of hockey fanaticism (Go, Habs, Go!) than that of American football.

6. Really? Are you really "carding" me?

The drinking laws are surprisingly strict in the U.S. Coming from Montreal, where you can pretty much buy booze at 10 years old if you wanted to, being carded at the age of 33 is hard to wrap my head around. Seems really illogical to be able to go die for your country at 18 but not have a beer at a restaurant until you are 21.

7. Moderation

America is known and criticized for its "supersize" mentality about many things and I think as a Canadian, I do crave more moderation generally -especially with sugar content. I do not know why but everything always tastes way too sweet here-from smoothies to Thai curry pastes to Mexican Mole. I feel like the American palate favors sweet and unfortunately, some of my favorite dishes taste "off" because of it.

8. Homeland Security scares me

I have been told many times that Canada and the US share the world's largest unprotected border and yet somehow it feels very "protected" and "securitized" to me. I do not like being regarded with suspicion when I come into the US and I resent being denied a work permit especially when I know that if I were an American entering Canada in the same context and with the same qualifications I would have the right to work.

9. American (Canadian) celebrities

I, like many people around the world, enjoy the world of American entertainment. As a Canadian however, I find it my duty to point out which American stars are really Canadian: Alex Trebec (Jeopardy), William Shatner (Captain Kirk), Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Mike Myers, Dan Aykroyd, Lorne Michaels (SNL), Matthew Perry (Friends), Michael J. Fox, Ellen Page (Juno), Michael Cera, Kim Catrall (Sex in the City), Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek), Jason Priestley (90210), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy), Seth Rogan, Kiefer Sutherland (24), etc.

10. I find patriotism in beer commercials
I am Canadian

Gotta have Soul

Last night, Mallar and I went to "Soul Nite" at the Northwest Film Forum. The event is described on their website as follows: "...unforgettable voices, funky grooves, magic moves and smooth styles of 60s and 70s SOUL MUSIC! Curator Peter Lucas culls classic and rare performance footage and hosts electrifying, all-star Soul shows on the big screen (and cranked up loud!) We also have djs spinning soul records in the cinema between sets and drinks available too. Clapping and dancing in the aisles is encouraged!".

Last night featured the likes of Sam and Dave, Lee Dorsey, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes and Otis Redding (who's birthday was celebrated at the event with free cake!). The audience wasn't quite dancing in the aisles but I was sure bopping joyously in my seat and there was a lot of hooting and hollering from the crowd during the screening. It was hilarious to see the hairstyles and outfits of the 1960s appearances -and the choreography! The music, though, the music was/is just brilliant! What voices... and stage presence...
Much of the audience stuck around afterward to dance. The DJ had a great collection of get-up-off-your-seat soul/motown classics.

Bainbridge Island

Mallar celebrated his 32nd birthday on Sunday and in honour of the occasion we thought we'd go on a cycling excursion in the great outdoors. We have been trying to explore the region a little more and so it was a good opportunity to embark on a day trip to Bainbridge Island.
Bainbridge Island is just a 30 minute ferry ride away, across Puget Sound and just west of Seattle. It was really cheap and easy to do on our bikes.
The ferry ride itself was actually pretty exciting as there are great views of the cityscape and Mt. Rainier as you cross the Sound.


We arrived just around lunch time so we decided to fuel up at Harbour Public House restaurant. We shared a very tasty fish and chips plate and tried two of the local microbrews they had on tap. Had we gone on a Saturday I think we would have loaded up at the farmers' market and picnicked somewhere but I was very happy with the resto (good food, friendly staff, nice scenery).

We covered a good 3/4 of the island on bike in an effort to get to the Bainbridge Island Winery for a wine-tasting. Some of the routes we took were rather hilly but it felt good to push ourselves. I especially liked stopping every once and awhile to pick wild blackberries off the side of the bike path. Yummy...

We also stopped for a rest at Point White Dock and caught a few rays. It was a really gorgeous day and I think I might have gone for a swim if we had come prepared (although I did wade in up to my thighs to retrieve a little boy's toy that was floating away from him at the shore).

The water looked very clear and inviting. I'm not sure how clean it is -I guess next time we will ask.

AMC 2-for-1

There is something very satisfying about getting two movies for the price of one and I just discovered that the downtown AMC in Seattle is an ideal place to pull off this guilty pleasure. Mallar and I caught 500 Days of Summer and Paper Heart on Saturday afternoon.


Both films are sweet and light-hearted romantic comedies -nothing award-winning but both still quite enjoyable and well-done for the genre. They are much quirkier and more interesting than the formulaic Matthew McConaughey/Kate Hudson style romantic comedy.

I have, however, been longing to see a really thick and thought-provoking movie lately. My friend Paula just wrote a blog about Lars von Trier's AntiChrist (which is only being released here in October) but it has renewed my interest in the kind of puzzling, difficult and haunting films that Trier is famous for making.


His movie Dogville is, to this day, the movie that has had the most significant emotional impact on me. After a preliminary web search on Lars von Trier, I think I might take the time to rent some of his earlier films. He is a fascinating director and because he rarely defends/explains his controversial creative choices -it is really interesting to analyze and deconstruct his films.

Long Overdue

Lately, I've been trying to finally get to all those things I felt I didn't have time for when I was frantically writing my thesis. On Wednesday, I rendez-voused with two women (GNA and Nina) from my scholars meetup group, had a really nice chat with them, then accompanied GNA to the Value Village to see if we could find any good second-hand board games. I admit we also scanned the racks of crazy tchotkes too. Sometimes other people's junk is just fascinating. There always seems to be a disproportionate amount of items with kitten motifs...
After parting ways with GNA, I sauntered through Cal Anderson park (see below) and sat down and read a novel for awhile.
I finished White Tiger and Never Let Me Go earlier in the week and now I'm onto Transmission, a Paula suggestion from some time ago that I picked up at a secondhand book shop for cheap. It's my favorite of the three, laugh-out-loud funny in some parts and really well-written.